A  GUIDE  TO 


TECHNICAL   WRITING 


6IFT  OF 
ROBEFCT 

BEL9HBR. 


A  GUIDE 


TO 


TECHNICAL  WRITING 


-BY- 

T.  A.  RICKARD 


MINING  AND  SCIENTIFIC  PRESS 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

1908 


-Til 


BELCHER 
e 


{H 


COPYRIGHT,  1908 

BY 
MINING  AND  SCIENTIFIC  PRESS. 


PREFACE. 

This  little  book  is  intended  to  help  those  who  wish  to 
write  clearly  on  technical  subjects.  My  experience  in 
professional  writing  is  not  long  enough  to  have  entailed 
loss  of  sympathy  with  beginners,  yet  it  is  sufficient  to  have 
taught  me  the  value  of  a  guide  in  these  matters.  Rules  are 
useful,  but  the  understanding  of  the  reason  on  which  a 
rule  is  based  is  better.  No  man  can  apply  a  rule  intelli- 
gently until  he  understands  when  to  disregard  it.  Such 
hints  as  I  have  put  together  are  those  suggested  by  daily 
practice  as  an  editor;  they  claim  no  finality;  all  of  them 
may  not  prove  acceptable ;  but  if  they  provoke  greater 
attention  to  the  fundamentals  of  good  technical  writing, 
this  essay  will  have  accomplished  a  useful  purpose. 

T.  A.  RICKARD. 
San  Francisco,  May  1,  1908. 


180889 


Table  of  Contents. 

Preface. 


Introductory 7 

Spurious  Coin 16 

Abbreviations 20 

Numbers 25 

The  Matter  of  Education 29 

Hyphens '  -        -        -  33 

Some  Words  and  Their  Ways 40 

Unconsidered  Trifles -        -  52 

Concerning  Titles 60 

Matters  of  Usage -        -        -  65 

Relative  Pronouns 74 

Examples  of  Journalese 86 

Hints  in  Grammar 94 

Minor  Matters 98 

Specifications 103 

Things  to  Avoid 107 

Good  and  TM  WHfjPff 108 

Parting  Advice •       -              -        .  m 

A  Plea  for  Greater  Simplicity  in  the  Language  of  Science      -  113 


INTRODUCTORY. 


It  has  been  said  that  in  this  age  the  man  of  science 
appears  to  be  the  only  one  who  has  anything  to  say,  and 
he  is  the  one  that  least  knows  how  to  say  it.  This  applies 
with  particular  force  to  the  technical  expert,  whose  sci- 
ence is  utilitarian  and  who,  therefore,  even  more  than 
the  philosopher,  is  inclined  to  disregard  the  help  of  cor- 
rect literary  expression.  In  fact,  the  suggestion  of  atten- 
tion to  such  minor  matters  is  apt  to  be  considered  merely 
an  irritating  emphasis  on  a  non-essential.  The  editor 
of  a  Denver  mining  paper  felt  assured  of  support  when 
he  expressed  the  opinion  that  attention  to  the  niceties 
of  literary  form  was  a  mere  "frill";  all  that  was 
needed  was  "to  get  there,"  that  is,  to  say  what  you 
mean  in  your  own  way.  This  view  of  the  matter  receives 
endorsement,  in  deed  rather  than  in  theory,  from  many 
writers  on  technical  subjects.  Moreover,  the  men  of  the 
mining  and  metallurgical  professions  are  usually  too  busy 
to  write  leisurely,  and  in  their  hurry  they  are  apt  to  be 
heedless  of  the  qualities  that  enable  language  to  fulfill 
its  purpose. 

Herein  lies  the  root  of  the  matter.  Language  is  a 
vehicle  of  expression  designed  to  convey  ideas  from  one 
man  to  another.  It  was  not  intended  for  the  soliloquy; 
civilized  man  does  not  live  by  himself,  nor  does  he  talk 
to  himself.  The  spoken  word  is  heard  by  those  present: 
the  written  word  reaches  those  at  a  distance ;  the  printed 
word  is  intended  to  be  read  by  thousands.  Careful  com- 
position facilitates  the  conveyance  of  ideas,  the  primary 
purpose  of  writing  being  to  transfer  ideas  from  one  man  to 


8  A  GUIDE  TO 

another  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the  least  trouble  to  the 
recipient.  At  best  human  speech  is  a  clumsy  vehicle  of 
thought;  much  of  the  idea  is  lost  in  transit;  too  much 
energy  is  consumed  in  the  effort  to  arrive  at  the  mental 
destination.  Obviously  we  should  endeavor  to  make  the 
transfer  as  complete  and  as  direct  as  possible.  Conscien- 
tious writers  try  to  improve  their  mode  of  expression  by 
precision  of  terms,  by  careful  choice  of  words,  and  by 
the  arrangement  of  them  so  that  they  become  efficient 
carriers  of  thought  from  one  mind  to  another.  Careless 
scribblers  do  not  trouble  themselves  either  to  be  precise 
in  their  terms  or  nice  in  the  selection  of  words;  they 
deem  themselves  hindered  in  the  freedom  of  their  speech 
by  the  rules  of  grammar;  they  regard  form  as  a  fad.  As 
the  Denver  critic  said,  they  "want  to  get  there."  But 
that  is  exactly  what  they  fail  to  do,  for  "getting  there" 
means  the  successful  conveyance  of  ideas  from  their 
minds  to  those  of  their  readers,  and  this  they  are  unable 
to  do  because  their  terms  do  not  describe  the  things  they 
refer  to,  their  arrangement  of  words  is  turbid,  their 
sentences  are  involved,  in  fine,  their  vehicle  of  thought 
does  not  perform  its  proper  function.  It  is  as  if  a  man 
wanting  to  transport  a  load  of  potatoes  from  his  farm  to 
the  nearest  town,  were  to  put  them,  not  in  sacks,  but 
loosely,  into  a  wagon  that  needs  repair,  and  then  took 
any  road  that  offered,  driving  without  regard  to  ruts  or 
stones,  but  rapidly  and  carelessly — just  to  get  there — 
without  wasting  thought  as  to  the  manner  of  the  perform- 
ance or  attempting  to  put  on  any  style — just  get  there — 
at  any  time,  in  any  way — while  the  potatoes  get  shaken 
and  bruised,  some  fall  out  of  the  wagon,  and  the  few  that 
survive  are  hardly  worth  cooking.  Another  farmer  with 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  9 

a  little  more  sense,  puts  his  potatoes  in  sacks ;  he  lays  the 
sacks  so  that  they  rest  securely  in  his  wagon,  the  wheels 
of  which  are  well  oiled  and  all  the  gear  in  excellent  run- 
ning order.  He  takes  the  most  direct  way,  avoids  obsta- 
cles, drives  with  a  light  but  firm  rein,  keeping  his  eye  on 
the  road,  and  without  loss  of  time  delivers  his  potatoes 
in  first-class  condition  to  the  nearest  market.  You  can 
vary  the  parable  and  you  can  add  to  it  many  details 
illustrating  different  phases  of  this  subject. 

Among  professional  men  the  idea  seems  to  prevail  that 
a  technical  paper  at  its  best  is  bound  to  be  dry  and  that  it 
is  of  no  particular  consequence  how  it  is  written  as  long 
as  it  is  free  from  errors  of  fact  and  inference.  To  many 
of  them  the  evidence  of  finish  in  the  diction  or  of  charm 
in  the  treatment  savors  of  a  sort  of  literary  effeminacy, 
the  introduction  of  an  element  foreign  to  the  subject  and 
calculated  to  weaken  the  force  of  a  statement.  Of  course, 
it  is  possible  to  spend  so  much  energy  on  the  manner  of 
writing  as  to  dilute  the  matter  almost  to  extinction,  as  a 
man  can  be  so  careful  about  the  choice  of  his  wagon  and 
the  selection  of  his  road  that  he  fails  to  reach  the  market 
with  his  load  of  potatoes  until  after  dark.  But  technical 
writers  rarely  err  in  this  way;  on  the  one  hand  the 
subjects  they  choose  do  not  lend  themselves  to  rhapso- 
dies, and,  on  the  other,  the  careful  use  of  the  pen  tends  to 
crystallize  thought,  producing  simplicity,  so  that  the 
clearness  of  the  writing  is  due  not  to  the  poverty  in  ideas 
but  to  the  precipitation  of  them. 

It  being  granted  that  writing  is  an  instrument  for 
transmitting  ideas,  we  can  appeal  to  the  engineer  on 
the  score  of  efficiency  —  the  fetish  before  which  he 
bows  continually.  It  might  be  expected  that  he  would 


10  A  GUIDE  TO 

try  to  make  his  writing  as  efficient  as  possible.  All 
his  training  is  toward  precision,  and  in  his  daily 
work  he  recognizes  the  need  of  the  right  thing  in  the 
right  place;  nevertheless,  in  his  writing  he  is  prone  to 
employ  terms  of  precision  with  all  the  carelessness  of  a 
boy  in  the  new  possession  of  an  air-gun.  Although  he 
writes  continually,  whether  it  be  reports,  specifications, 
or  letters,  he  is  apt  to  consider  the  mode  of  expression  as 
too  academic  for  practical  purposes.  One  consequence  of 
this  indifference  is  that  those  who  know  him  only  by  his 
written  records  are  apt  to  undervalue  his  ability. 

Science  is  organized  common  sense.  Is  it  sensible  to 
take  great  pains  in  developing  ideas  and  then  to  be  care- 
less in  the  transfer  of  them?  If  not,  then  the  scientific 
man  is  unscientific  in  his  writing.  Not  that  I  would  rate 
the  manner  above  the  matter;  for  we  all  know  people 
with  a  fatal  facility  for  expression ;  they  have  nothing  in 
particular  to  say,  so  they  write  for  the  daily  press.  But 
in  technical  and  scientific  literature,  whether  of  period- 
icals or  of  books,  the  complexity  of  the  subject  is  per- 
mitted to  kill  the  charm  of  the  writing  and  it  would  seem 
as  if  the  worth  of  the  matter  were  considered  so  great 
as  to  make  the  manner  of  presenting  it  a  superfluity.  This 
is  done  despite  a  general  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
art  in  writing.  Two  examples  may  be  quoted  from  among 
great  writers.  In  Ruskin  the  wording  is  so  exquisite  that 
the  science  is  secondary.  Take  the  fourth  volume  of 
'Modern  Painters'  and  read  his  description  of  the  mica 
schist  on  the  top  of  the  Matterhorn;  it  has  the  charm  of 
poetry,  and  the  cadence  of  music,  even  if  it  be  not  ortho- 
dox geology.  Then  turn  to  Huxley  and  read  his  essay 
on  a  bit  of  coal ;  there  the  description  is  clear  and  the 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  11 

exposition  luminous,  science  and  art  are  wedded  in  an 
essay  the  form  of  which  is  as  perfect  as  the  work  of  an 
artist ;  the  thought,  as  profound  as  the  utterance  of  a  sage. 
That  is  indeed  scientific  literature. 

While  engineers  and  geologists  have  had  to  burden 
their  library  shelves  with  a  lot  of  half-baked  material, 
and  while  they  often  suffer  from  mental  dyspepsia  by 
reason  of  the  chunks  of  knowledge,  without  dressing  or 
garniture,  placed  before  them,  they  have  reason  also  to 
be  grateful  for  some  dishes  of  technical  information,  well- 
cooked,  served  with  sauce  piquante,  and  adorned  with  the 
parsley  of  pleasant  fancy.  To  Rossiter  W.  Raymond, 
Henry  M.  Howe,  and  Edward  D.  Peters,  for  example,  we 
are  indebted  for  luminous  literature  sufficient  to  dem- 
onstrate that  technology  is  not  necessarily  a  desert  of 
dry  things.  In  geology  the  scope  is  wide,  for  the  fairy 
wand  of  the  constructive  imagination  is  waved  over  the 
musty  page  and  awakens  the  imagery  of  art,  irradiating 
the  library  of  the  scientific  man  like  those  parterres  of 
brightly  tinted  flowers  that  spring  into  sudden  life  after 
the  rain  has  fallen  on  the  West  Australian  desert.  Among 
the  living  authors  on  geology  to  whom  we  owe  a  mem- 
orable amount  of  delectable  reading  are  John  W.  Judd 
and  Archibald  Geikie  in  England,  while  in  America  there 
are  a  number  skilled  in  this  regard,  notably  S.  F.  Em- 
mons  and  F.  L.  Ransome.  If  the  geologists  are  ahead 
of  the  mining  engineers  and  metallurgists  in  felicity  of 
expression,  it  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  most  of  them 
have  undergone  an  academic  training  before  taking  a 
special  course  in  science ;  consequently,  they  have  ac- 
quired some  feeling  for  the  proper  use  of  language  and 
a  command  of  words  that  practice  has  cultivated. 


12  A  GUIDE  TO 

It  is  not  for  me  to  say  much  about  style,  for  even  the 
definition  of  this  term  involves  elaborate  analysis.  The 
technical  writer  may  well  begin  by  trying  to  learn 
the  use  of  ''proper  words  in  proper  places,"  that  is, 
effective  expression  obtained  by  precision,  in  order  that 
the  writer  may  economize  the  mental  labor  of  the  reader. 
After  a  while  he  may  acquire  such  skill  that  his  words 
convey  more  than  their  dictionary  meaning  and  on  rare 
occasions  he  may  even  weave  a  beautiful  fabric  illus- 
trating the  complete  harmony  of  thought  and  expression. 
But  the  first  principle  of  style  is  to  say  a  thing  so  that  it 
is  understood.  Then  out  of  the  several  ways  in  which 
an  idea  can  be  stated,  choose  the  particular  way  that  will 
make  it  bite  into  the  understanding  of  the  reader.  If 
you  describe  a  stamp-mill  to  an  experienced  millman,  a 
mining  student,  or  a  bishop,  you  will  vary  the  manner 
of  telling.  The  most  effective  will  be  that  which  has  a 
sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  other  fellow's  receptive- 
ness.  Do  not  plant  carnations  in  a  clay  soil,  or  rice  in  a. 
sand  heap.  As  a  rule  the  process  is  simplified  by  the 
fact  that  technical  writings  are  intended  to  be  read  by 
technical  students  and,  there  being  an  accord  between  the 
writer  and  his  readers,  he  can  adopt  a  uniform  manner, 
namely,  that  which  is  natural  to  the  professional  man 
when  dealing  with  professional  matters.  Therefore  the 
' '  great  art ' '  of  Pater,  the  ' '  inevitable  phrase ' '  of  Raleigh, 
or  the  "personal  style"  of  Symonds  are  alike  in  bad 
taste,  because  they  are  out  of  place.  They  are  not  fitting. 
On  the  contrary,  the  ideal  is  Spencer's  "economy"  of 
time  and  words  by  saying  what  there  is  to  say  so  that  it 
cannot  be  misunderstood. 

Technical  writers  should  take  two  precepts  as  their 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  13 

guide:  First  the  " proper  words  in  proper  places"  of 
Swift;  and  then,  "the  style  is  the  man"  of  Buff  on;  that 
is,  precision  and  sincerity.  Affectation  is  the  worst  of 
faults.  It  is  a  compliment  to  a  writer  to  be  told  that 
he  writes  as  he  talks,  always  supposing  that  he  does  not 
talk  wildly  or  carelessly.  We  like  those  who  are  natural 
and  that  is  why  the  most  effective  writing  is  natural. 
There  are  those  who,  when  they  prepare  matter  that  is 
to  be  printed,  affect  a  vocabulary  and  an  idiom  foreign 
to  them,  just  as  some  queer  persons  have  society  manners 
as  distinguished  from  their  behavior  at  home.  There  are 
public  occasions,  of  course,  when  a  certain  dignity  of 
bearing  is  befitting;  for  similar  reasons  it  is  proper  that 
the  irresponsibility  and  ease  of  ordinary  talk  should  be 
modified  when  making  statements  for  print.  On  the 
whole,  if  mining  engineers,  metallurgists,  and  geologists 
were  to  write  their  articles  as  letters  to  an  honored  pro- 
fessional friend,  the  result  would  be  satisfactory. 

Bad  writing  is  due  to  two  fundamental  errors:  on  the 
one  hand,  entire  disregard  for  the  manner  of  expression, 
as  though  it  were  of  no  consequence;  and  on  the  other, 
subordination  of  the  matter  to  the  manner.  The  first 
was  illustrated  by  the  Denver  editor*  already  quoted; 
the  second  is  typified  by  the  stylists,  who  wrote  with  a 
skill  far  beyond  anything  worth  the  saying  that  they  had 
to  say. 

Write  simply  and  clearly,  be  accurate  and  careful; 
above  all,  put  yourself  in  the  other  fellow's  place.  Re- 
member the  reader.  Fluency  of  diction,  largeness  of 

*He  has  laid  down  the  pen  and  is  now  less  like  a  bull  in  a  china 
shop;  whether  he  wields  the  sword  or  the  hoe  does  not  greatly 
matter. 


14  A  GUIDE  TO 

vocabulary,  ease  of  execution,  and  the  distinction  of  a 
particular  manner,  if  they  come,  will  come  with  practice. 

Young  engineers — and  even  some  of  the  older  ones — 
have  been  known  to  express  the  desire  to  be  able  to  write 
like  Dr.  Raymond,  for  example,  evidently  thinking  that 
it  is  a  sort  of  heaven-sent  faculty  or  else  something  of  a 
trick,  the  clue  to  which  they  might  discover.  I  venture 
to  say  that  in  writing,  as  in  many  other  things,  it  is  prac- 
tice that  makes  perfect.  You  will  find  that  the  men 
whom  you  regard  as  skillful  with  the  pen  are  those  who 
have  written  a  great  deal,  even  if  they  have  not  published 
all  of  it.  Raymond  writes  with  a  pen  or  pencil,  usually 
the  former,  because  the  rigidity  of  the  pencil  is  more 
fatiguing  to  the  hand  than  the  elasticity  of  a  pen.  What 
he  writes  is  subsequently  typewritten,  of  course,  but  by 
writing  himself  in  long  hand  he  is  able  to  look  over  the 
first  draft  as  a  whole,  and  make  such  corrections  as 
will  avoid  the  necessity  for  a  second  typewritten  version. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  added  that  he  dictates  busi- 
ness letters  and  he  can  dictate  a  long  article  or  even 
legal  testimony,  punctuation  included.  Skill  in  any 
department  of  human  activity  is  apt  to  be  the  result  of 
taking  pains,  and  writing  is  no  exception. 

Constant  dependence  upon  a  stenographer  tends  to 
repetition  and  lack  of  lucidity.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
the  technical  men  who  are  dependent  upon  a  stenogra- 
pher do  not  acquire  a  satisfactory  manner  of  writing ;  for 
many  of  them  only  put  their  pen  to  paper  in  order  to 
make  a  signature.  When  dictating,  a  man  does  not  have 
the  opportunity  to  see  what  he  has  just  said,  to  note  how 
it  hangs  together,  to  cull  and  to  correct  as  he  proceeds 
until  the  entire  statement  expresses  his  exact  meaning. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  15 

It  is  certain  that  dictation  makes  for  diffuseness  and 
repetition.  Herbert  Spencer's  experience  was  that  after 
he  employed  an  amanuensis  his  writing  became  prolix. 
In  his  later  volumes  he  could  cut  out  a  quarter  or  more, 
whereas  in  the  earlier  books  the  texture  was  so  close  as 
to  render  condensation  unnecessary.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  use  of  a  typewriting  machine  by  an  author  is  open 
to  less  objection  and  obviates  some  of  the  dangers  of 
dictation,  although  it  does  not  afford  quite  the  same 
facility  for  correction  as  the  pen  or  pencil.  As  a  matter 
of  practical  suggestion,  I  venture  to  urge  those  who  care 
to  write  well  that  they  should  re-write  at  least  once, 
if  not  more  often.  Froude,  in  one  of  his  essays,  reminds 
his  friends  that  everything  he  published  was  written  and 
re-written  at  least  five  times !  Before  the  stenographer  and 
the  copying  press  came  into  use,  our  fathers  used  to  pre- 
pare a  first  draft,  then  carefully  correct  and  amend  it,  and 
preserve  it  as  their  own  record,  sending  a  clean  copy  to 
their  correspondent.  Even  twenty  years  ago  mining  engi- 
neers and  geologists  wrote  their  reports  and  descriptions 
in  long  hand,  correcting  as  they  proceeded  and  re-arrang- 
ing their  statements  with  great  care,  in  contrast  to  the 
slap-dash  ways  of  a  fluent  dictation  that  obviates  all 
manual  labor  save  the  signature. 

It  is  fair  to  state  that  the  technical  writers  of  today  are 
to  blame  not  so  much  for  their  failure  to  write  well,  as  for 
the  fact  that  they  do  not  try  to  do  better.  Insistence  on 
the  need  of  closer  attention  to  details  and  of  a  better  feel- 
ing for  the  value  of  careful  writing,  may  induce  the 
younger  members  of  the  profession  to  exercise  more  care. 


16  A  GUIDE  TO 

SPURIOUS   COIN. 

The  language  of  mining  and  metallurgy  suffers  from 
the  introduction  of  terms  that  are  provincial,  colloquial, 
or  plainly  vulgar.  The  language  of  the  stope  has  its  use 
— in  the  stope;  the  phrases  of  the  mill-foreman  are  not 
without  their  significance — in  the  mill ;  linguistic  evolution 
advances  in  part,  at  least,  by  the  adoption  of  words  of 
lowly  birth  or  even  of  those  of  illegitimate  origin,  but,  if 
the  exception  be  granted,  there  remains  scant  excuse  for 
the  employment  of  terms  that  come  from  the  uneducated, 
seeing  that  we  have  the  choice  of  synonyms  that  are  the 
gift  of  scholars.  When  a  college  graduate  prefers  the 
colloquialisms  of  a  working  miner  to  the  terminology  cur- 
rent among  scientific  men,  he  is  recreant  to  his  training. 
To  some  among  us  the  crudities  of  speech  heard  in  mine 
and  mill  savor  of  the  practical,  and  the  exactness  of  the 
lecture  room  is  suggestive  of  the  theorist  who  does  not 
soil  his  hands  with  labor  or  his  clothes  with  grease. 
This  is  a  pathetic  fallacy.  Yet  it  has  its  counterpart  in 
journalism.  Just  as  the  mining  engineer  allows  his  speech 
to  be  modified  by  the  talk  of  the  laborers  he  employs,  so 
the  journalist  is  apt  to  allow  his  writing  to  be  edited  as 
to  spelling,  punctuation,  and  other  supposedly  minor 
matters,  by  the  compositor  who  puts  his  writing  into  type. 
Until  lately — and  in  places  even  now — the  editing  has 
been  done  chiefly  by  the  compositors,  not  the  editors,  the 
latter  performing  all  the  sundry  duties  of  their  office 
except  the  one  from  which  they  derive  their  name.  Once 
in  a  while  a  real  editor,  like  Raymond,  gives  powers  of 
rare  quality  to  the  improvement  of  technical  writing,  but 
necessarily  the  benefit  of  his  service  is  felt  immediately 


TECHNICAL   WRITING.  17 

only  by  those  he  is  called  upon  to  discipline,  namely,  the 
contributors  to  the  transactions  of  the  engineering  society 
of  which  he  has  been  secretary-editor  so  long  and  so  suc- 
cessfully. For  the  rest,  it  is  chaos. 

The  result  is  se.en  in  the  mongrel  words  that  have  in- 
vaded the  language  used  by  English-speaking  engineers, 
geologists,  and  metallurgists.  Take,  for  example,  such 
words  as  reef,  paddock,  ledge,  sulphurets,  gallows  frame, 
leaser,  and  so  forth.  Each  of  these  ought  to  be  tabooed. 
Reef  is  Australian,  it  has  been  adopted  in  South  Africa, 
and  is  now  used  by  Englishmen  everywhere.  It  is  not 
needed,  it  means  nothing  that  'lode'  or  'vein'  does  not 
signify,  and  if  it  conveys  more  it  is  misleading.  The 
sailors  and  shepherds  who  started  gold  mining  in  Aus- 
tralia thought  they  saw  a  resemblance  between  the  out- 
crops of  quartz  veins  and  the  coral  reefs  or  other  ridges 
of  rock  that  make  navigation  dangerous.  Much  the  same 
notion  is  involved  in  the  Californian  use  of  ledge,  although 
we  have  learnt  long  ago  that  veins  of  ore  do  not  neces- 
sarily jut  out  at  surface  or  protrude  above  the  desert 
like  the  comb  of  a  game  cock. 

Neither  ledge  nor  reef  is  wanted ;  they  ought  to  be  kicked 
down  the  back-stairs  of  language  by  which  they  made  a 
surreptitious  entrance.  Paddock  is  another  Australian 
bastard;  it  means  an  enclosure  for  exercising  horses,  and 
the  Australians,  being  keen  horsemen,  took  to  using  the 
word  in  mining.  Thus  when  ore  is,  or  ought  to  be,  '  in  the 
bins,'  or  'stored,'  or  'stacked  at  surface,'  it  is  said  to  be 
'in  the  paddock.'  Sulphurets  belongs  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
and  is  still  employed  by  persons  who  ought  to  know  bet- 
ter. It  signifies  the  concentrated  pyrite,  such  as  is  sepa- 
rated on  a  vanner.  Originally  it  referred  to  the  sooty 


18  A  GUIDE  TO 

oxy-sulphates  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  zone  of  oxida- 
tion. In  this  sense  it  was  used  by  some  scientific  men, 
but  it  has  lost  all  such  special  meaning  and  is  now  only 
a  provincialism  of  the  least  desirable  kind., 

Gallows  frame  is  usually  pronounced,  and  sometimes 
written,  gallas  frame,  as  if  to  obscure  its  unpleasant  sug- 
gestiveness.  Certainly  it  gives  no  hint  of  the  lofty  engi- 
neering structure  that  stands  over  the  deep  shaft  of  a 
metal  mine.  To  speak  of  a  towering  network  of  latticed 
steel  as  a  gallows  frame  is  plainly  absurd,  yet  that  is  done 
at  Butte  and  Cripple  Creek.*  Nor  is  it  necessary;  we 
have  head-frame,  even  if  we  do  not  want  the  British  pop- 
pet heads.  Leaser  is  another  Western  colloquialism ;  it  is 
employed  in  place  of  lessee,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  a 
variation  from  lessor.  Thus  we  see  how  language  is  turned 
inside  out,  for  leaser  is  employed  to  designate  the  man 
taking  a  lease  from  the  owner  of  a  mine,  while  as  a  matter 
of  fact  leaser  means  (see  any  dictionary)  the  man  that 
grants  the  lease;  that  is,  it  is  self-contradictory. 

One  more  bungling  term  may  be  instanced,  namely, 
rock,  which  is  used  among  the  copper  mines  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior to  designate  ore.  Not  only  do  the  Finns,  the  Hunga- 
rians, the  Swedes,  and  the  other  folk  ignorant  of  the  Eng- 
lish language,  employ  this  term,  but  the  graduates  from 
Columbia,  Harvard,  and  Yale  accept  the  sloppy  usage. 
Ore  and  rock  all  over  the  world — except  in  Michigan — 
are  set  in  opposition  as  signifying,  respectively,  the  profit- 
able and  the  unprofitable  product  of  a  mine. 

These  localisms  may  seem  harmless  enough,  but  they 
are  not;  they  restrict  the  usefulness  of  technical  litera- 

"Incidentally  it  may  be  mentioned  that  derrick  Is  derived  from 
Derrick,  the  hangman. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  19 

ture.  The  American  does  not  know  the  meaning  of  pad- 
dock or  reef,  or  reads  into  them  a  significance  that  they 
do  not  possess;  the  miner  or  engineer  in  Australia  and 
South  Africa  misinterprets  gallows  frame,  ledge,  and  sul- 
phurets.  The  educated  man  anywhere  is  misled  by  the 
employment  of  leaser  and  rock.  Scores  of  similar  exam- 
ples are  available,  but  they  need  not  be  recited ;  they  are 
wearisome  in  themselves  and  in  the  iteration  of  them. 
There  is  a  broader  reason  for  objecting  to  all  such  pro- 
vincialisms and  insularities.  The  English  language  is  the 
common  heritage  of  the  people  of  not  one  mining  dis- 
trict, nor  one  region,  nor  one  country,  nor  one  continent; 
it  is  the  heritage  of  the  race  to  which  Englishmen,  Amer- 
icans, Canadians,  Australians,  and  Afrikanders  all  belong, 
and  also  of  the  various  races  that  they  have  assimilated 
in  the  course  of  their  effort  to  conquer  nature  the  world 
over.  The  mere  fact  that  a  word  is  distinctively  Western 
Australian  or  Californian,  is  peculiar  to  Michigan  or  New 
Zealand,  is  reason  enough  for  rejecting  it.  Let  us  have 
a  mintage  that  will  pass  current  at  full  value  throughout 
the  English-speaking  world;  let  it  be  the  refined  gold  of 
human  speech. 


20  A  GUIDE  TO 

ABBREVIATIONS. 

Since  an  abbreviation  lacks  dignity,  it  should  not  be 
used  at  the  close  of  a  paragraph  and  it  ought  to  be 
avoided  even  at  the  end  of  a  sentence.  A  paragraph 
embodying  a  reasoned  statement  should  close  with  a  word 
that  is  significant.  In  oratory,  and  even  in  lesser  forms 
of  speech,  it  is  natural  to  end  a  statement  with  a  word 
of  some  consequence.  You  do  not  "hit  the  nail  on  the 
head"  with  a  cucumber,  and  you  cannot  expect  to  make 
a  statement  incisive  with  a  final  word  that  is  of  no  value 
in  the  expression  of  your  idea.  It  is  this  feeling  of  appro- 
priateness that  causes  the  speaker  to  close  an  oration 
with  a  sentence,  and  the  sentence  with  a  word,  that  is 
deeply  significant.  Literature  is  speech  transferred  to 
paper.  Similar  considerations  govern  the  employment 
of  language  in  either  case. 

The  plural  is  not  given  to  an  abbreviation,  because  it 
is  not  a  word  but  a  symbol.  In  some  instances  the  symbol 
used  as  an  abbreviation  refers  to  an  entirely  different 
word.  Thus  the  term  pound  is  represented  by  lb.,  which 
stands  for  the  Latin  libra,  and  the  plural  of  libra  would  be 
librae,  not  libras,  therefore  Ibs.  is  entirely  incorrect.  Oz.  is 
obviously  not  a  direct  abbreviation  for  ounce  but  the 
apothecary's  symbol  of  that  measure,  therefore  the  plural 
is  as  improper  as  it  would  be  if  given  to  a  chemical  sym- 
bol, which  is  usually  not  a  part  of  the  common  name  of 
the  element  it  represents.  Thus  Au  and  Ag  are  not  abbre- 
viations of  'gold'  and  'silver'  but  symbols  made  from 
letters  occurring  in  the  Latin  equivalents. 

In  the  metric  system  we  have  to  note  that  cubic  centi- 
metre consists  of  two  words,  therefore  the  chemist's  ab- 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  21 

breviation  c.c.  should  be  written  with  a  period  after  each 
letter.  Some  of  the  chemical  societies  authorize  the  use 
of  the  form  cc.  but  for  this  there  is  no  excuse  save  lazi- 
ness; if  the  first  period  is  omitted  for  convenience,  the 
second  might  as  well  be  dropped  and  chemists  who  do 
not  care  to  bother  about  niceties  should  use  cc  as  the  sym- 
bol of  their  literary  independence.  Colloquially  most  of 
us  speak  of  a  kilo  of  silver  and  when  we  are  in  a  country 
using  the  metric  system  we  talk  about  kilos.  The  last  is  a 
vulgarism;  as  for  the  singular  form,  that  is  apt  in  printed 
matter  to  be  confused  with  kilometre.  Kilo  is  an  unschol- 
arly  abbreviation ;  it  is  better  to  use  kg.  for  the  kilogram 
and  km.  for  the  kilometre. 

In  regard  to  the  dollar  as  used  in  Spanish-American 
countries,  especially  Mexico,  most  mining  engineers  and 
travelers  know  what  confusion  is  created  by  using  the 
same  term  for  two  different  currencies,  for  a  Mexican 
dollar  happens  now,  but  not  always,  to  be  worth  about 
one-half  of  the  American  dollar,  as  measured  in  gold.  It 
will  be  well  to  use  the  peso  and  centavo,  instead  of  the 
dollar  and  cent,  when  referring  to  Mexican  currency.  The 
centavo  is  abbreviated  to  cv.  and  the  peso  is  represented 
by  the  letter  P  with  two  bars,  like  those  of  the  dollar  sign ; 
thus :  f*.  This  is  used  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 

The  half-spelling  of  the  thermometrical  signs  (Fahr., 
Cent.,  Reau.)  is  ugly  and  unnecessary,  as  no  two  of  them 
begin  with  the  same  letter.  The  initial  serves  the  purpose, 
with  the  addition  of  a  period. 

Many  writers  appear  to  have  a  confused  idea  that  H2O 
and  Aq.  are  equal  and  interchangeable.  The  first  is  the 
symbol  of  a  chemical  entity,  the  second  is  the  apothe- 


22  A  GUIDE  TO 

cary  's  sign  for  water  as  a  fluid ;  one  indicates  a  molecule, 
the  other  water  as  a  sensible  mass  or  bulk. 

The  use  of  the  upper  accents  to  indicate  feet  and  inches 
is  objectionable,  for  it  is  also  employed  to  indicate  min- 
utes and  seconds;  in  practice  the  use  of  these  signs  is  apt 
to  cause  errors,  for  the  omission  of  one  of  the  accents 
converts  inches  into  feet.  Even  in  giving  a  measurement 
of  time  it  is  better  to  use  the  verbal  abbreviation  of 
minute  and  second.  Thus:  25  min.  17  sec.,  unless  pre- 
ceded by  degrees,  in  which  case  confusion  is  unlikely  and 
uniformity  requires  us  to  write  35°  25'  17". 

In  giving  measurements  it  is  better  to  indicate  the  mul- 
tiplication by  the  word  'by'  than  by  the  sign  X,  because 
the  first  represents  the  wording  as  read  and  the  latter,  if 
carelessly  written,  is  easily  mistaken  for  the  plus  sign. 

Per  cent  has  ceased  to  be  an  abbreviation,  for  we  no 
longer  say  per  centum.  It  does  not  need  a  period. 

Thus  we  arrive  at  the  following  rules : 

1.  Never  end  a  paragraph  with  an  abbreviation.   Spell 
the  last  word. 

2.  Abbreviations  are  used  in  the  singular  only.    Thus : 
17  lb.,  not  17  Ibs. ;  15  oz.,  not  15  ozs. ;  11  in.,  not  11  ins. 

3.  A  period  is  required  after  an  abbreviation.     Thus: 
The  Zinc  Corporation  Ltd. ;  the  Mysore  Gold  Mining  Co. ; 
40  ft.  long ;  11  in.  wide. 

4.  Chemical  symbols  are  not  abbreviations,  but  signs. 
They  do  not  require  a  period.    Thus  : 

2NaCl+H2S04= 2HCl+Na2S04. 

5.  Weights  and  measures  are  abbreviated  only  when 
preceded  by  a  number.     Thus:     20  lb. ;  several  pounds: 
five  pounds. 


I  UN!  VERSIT 

V  or  J 

XjC,- 

TECHNICAL  WRITING.  23 

6.  The  following  abbreviations  are  noteworthy: 
Barrel  bbl.  Gallon  gal. 
Bushel                 bu.            Horse-power       hp. 
Fathom               fm.             Yard  yd. 

Miles,  tons,  amperes,  and  volts  are  not  abbreviated. 

7.  In  metric  measurements  the  recognized  abbrevia- 
tions are : 

Metre  m.         Gram  gm. 

Kilometre  km.         Kilogram  kg. 

Centimetre  cm.         Milligram  mg. 

Millimetre  mm.         Cubic  centimetre     c.c. 

The  metric  gram  and  the  English  grain  must  be  spelled 
whenever  there  is  a  chance  of  confusion;  otherwise  use 
gm.  for  gram  and  gr.  for  grain. 

8.  In  referring  to  money,  the  dollar  sign  should  not  be 
used  for  Mexican  currency,  but  that  of  the  peso,  thus,  ?. 
The  following  abbreviations  are  correct: 

Cent  c.  Florin  fl. 

Centavo  cv.  Penny  d. 

Franc  fr.  Shilling  s. 

In  the  case  of  foreign  money,  it  is  usually  best  to  spell 
words  designating  currency,  if  there  is  any  chance  of  a 
misunderstanding. 

9.  IK  abbreviating  the  thermometrical  and  chemical 
scales,  use  the  following : 

Centigrade  C.  Reaumur  R. 

Fahrenheit  F.  Beaume  B. 

10.  The   words   figure   and   number   are    abbreviated 
when  preceding  a  numeral.    Thus :    ' '  There  is  a  diagram 
of  No.  2  shaft  in  Fig.  3." 


24  A  GUIDE  TO 

11.  The  word  company  is  abbreviated  when  part  of  an 
official  name.     Thus:     The  Camp  Bird  Mines  Co.    When 
used  informally  it  must  be  spelled,  as:    "We  understand 
that  the  Camp  Bird  company  is  to  build  a  new  mill. ' '  The 
and  forming  part  of  the  name  of  a  company  is  written 
with  the  ampersand.    Thus :    The  Butte  &  Boston  Copper 
Mining  Co. ;  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railroad. 

12.  Use  abbreviations,  not  signs,  to  indicate  feet  and 
inches  or  minutes  and  seconds.     Thus:  14  ft.  3  in.,  not 
14'  3".    Also  34  min.  5  sec.,  not  34'  5",  unless  preceded 
by  degrees;  then  10°  34'  5". 

13.  Use  the  word  'by'  instead  of  the  sign  X  in  giving 
dimensions.    Thus  8  by  12  in.,  not  8X12  inches.   Also:  12 
divided  by  3,  making  4  ft.,  not  12-^3  —  4  ft.,  except  in 
mathematical  tables  or  treatises. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  25 

NUMBERS. 

In  making  rules  for  the  use  of  numbers  it  is  necessary 
to  recognize  the  exceptions.  The  styles  of  different 
printers  exhibit  an  amusing  diversity  and  the  attempt  to 
observe  any  cast-iron  rule  will  lead  to  trouble. 

While  it  is  usual  to  spell  numbers  less  than  10,  because 
they  are  represented  by  short  words,  it  is  desirable  to 
use  figures  even  for  numbers  less  than  10  when  they  are 
grouped  with  other  numbers  of  10  and  over.  Thus :  *  *  The 
length  in  one  case  was  2  ft.,  and  in  the  other  it  was  11 
ft."  This  puts  the  two  figures  in  better  contrast  than  by 
saying :  '  *  The  length  in  one  case  was  two  feet,  and  in  the 
the  other  it  was  11  ft."  Similarly,  when  weights  or  meas- 
urements are  being  compared.  Thus :  * '  The  timbers  used 
were  2  by  4  by  12  inches "  or  "  one  vat  was  8  ft.  deep  and 
6  ft.  diam.,  while  the  other  was  10  ft.  deep  and  8  ft.  diam- 
eter." The  figures  emphasize  the  idea  of  relation  of  size 
better  than  if  the  dimensions  were  expressed  in  words. 

Figures  indicate  some  attempt  to  be  accurate,  so  that 
when  a  mere  approximation  is  intended  it  is  well  to  avoid 
the  use  of  them.  Thus :  * '  He  lived  here  twenty  years 
ago, "  if  it  was  about  twenty  years  ago ;  but  if  it  was 
exactly  20  years,  then  employ  the  figures. 

Three  shades  of  accuracy  are  expressed  by  ten,  10, 
and  10.0.  Ten  is  approximate,  10  is  accurate,  10.0  is 
exact.  The  last  form  is  used  only  in  connection  with 
other  decimals.  For  example :  ' '  One  streak  of  ore  is  8.4 
in.  wide,  another  is  9.3  in.,  and  a  third  10.0";  meaning 
thereby  that  the  possibility  of  a  slight  excess  or  deduc- 
tion from  10  has  been  considered,  and  rejected,  the  meas- 
urement being  absolute. 


26  A  GUIDE  TO 

The  use  of  unnecessary  ciphers  is  apt  to  cause  an  error 
by  misplacing  the  decimal  point.  Thus  $5.00  may  be 
made  $500  by  the  dropping  of  the  point.  It  is  obvious 
that  $5.00  offers  no  advantage  over  $5 ;  it  is  calculated  to 
mislead,  for  the  extra  ciphers  make  it  loom  larger  than 
the  single  figure.  People  who  offer  rewards  for  missing 
poodles  do  well  to  state  that  they  are  prepared  to  pay 
$1.00  for  the  lost  dog,  for  $1.00  looks  like  more  money 
than  $1,  which  seems  little  enough  for  a  valuable  puppy. 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  the  comma,  it  is  customary  to 
employ  it  for  the  thousands,  but  this  is  not  necessary  and 
it  divides  the  figures  unpleasantly ;  therefore,  it  is  well  to 
write  5000  and  2500  rather  than  5,000  and  2,500,  using 
the  comma  at  the  next  stage.  Thus :  5000,  not  5,000 ;  but 
51,250,  not  51250. 

As  to  decimals,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  technical  men 
should  employ  them  whenever  they  mean  to  be  exact  and 
whenever  they  have  the  information  permitting  of  such 
exactness,  reserving  the  employment  of  fractions  for 
approximate  statements.  Thus:  "The  ore  carries  2.25 
(not  2%)  oz.  gold  and  10.75  (not  10%)  oz.  silver  per 
ton,"  if  an  assay  has  proved  this  to  be  the  case.  It  is 
best  to  say,  "The  distance  is  2%  miles"  when  all  you 
know  is  that  it  is  more  than  2,  and  less  than  3,  miles.  If 
the  distance  has  been  measured  and  it  is  known  to  be 
exactly  2.5  miles,  the  decimal  is  preferable.  Do  not  make 
a  pretense  of  accuracy  by  using  decimals  when  they  are 
not  wanted. 

Hours  or  minutes  less  than  10  should  be  spelled  (two 
hours)  unless  grouped  with  figures  of  10  and  over  (12 
hr.)  or  with  a  decimal  (as  1.5  hr).  'One  and  five-tenth's 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  27 

hours'  is  preferably  not  spelled  because  it  spreads  too 
much  and  is  clumsy. 

There  is  another  exception:  I  refer  to  dimensions  such 
as  eighth,  sixteenth,  or  thirty-second,  which  are  used  in 
mechanical  engineering,  where  tools  and  appliances  are 
made  in  fractions  of  an  inch.  To  say  0.125  in.  or  0.03125 
in.  will  not  convey  what  is  meant,  because  the  fractions 
refer  to  standard  sizes  quoted  in  the  trade,  and  not  actual 
measurements.  A  quarter-inch  plate  is  not  necessarily 
exactly  0.25  in.  thick. 

The  foregoing  ideas  are  embodied  in  the  following 
rules : 

1.  Use  figures  for  10  and  for  numbers  over  10.     Spell 
those  under  10. 

The  following  exceptions  must  be  noted : 

(a)  When  beginning  a  sentence,  as:  "Fourteen  men 
working  six  days  completed  the  dam." 

(b)  When  there   are  several  references  to  numbers, 
so  that  the  figures    accentuate    the    statement  of  fact. 
"Nine  men  working  6  days  with  machine-drills  were  able 
to  sink  the  shaft  9  ft.,  breaking  75  tons  of  ore." 

(c)  When  one  number  follows  another,  spell  one  of 
them,  preferably  the  smaller:     "He  took  samples  at  50 
five-foot  intervals."    "The  manager  bought  eleven  24-ft. 
belts." 

(d)  When    an    approximation    is    intended.      Thus: 
"This  was  a  lively  mining  camp  twenty  years  ago."    "He 
will  be  a  rich  man  ten  years  hence." 

2.  Omit  unnecessary  ciphers  in  stating  sums  of  money. 
Thus :   $2,  not  $2.00 ;  $5000,  not  $5,000.00. 

3.  Use  the  comma  for  more  than  four  figures^  not  oth- 
erwise.   Thus :  5000  and  50,000. 


28  A  GUIDE  TO 

4.  Use  decimals  in  place  of  fractions  whenever  you 
mean  to  be  exact,  not  otherwise. 

5.  In  decimal  numbers  having  no  units,  a  cipher  should 
be  placed  before  the  decimal  point.     Thus:  Not  .32  lb., 
but  0.32  pound. 


Usage  determines  the  meaning  of  words.  In  the  end  a 
word  gets  to  mean  what  people  in  general  intend  it  to 
mean.  When  you  violate  good  use,  you  employ  the  word 
in  a  sense  likely  to  be  misunderstood,  and  then  the  word 
becomes  either  a  blank  or  a  snare.  The  Western  Ameri- 
can who  speaks  of  doing  the  work  of  a  'mucker'  in  a  mine 
is  unintelligible  to  the  Australian,  and  the  New  Zealander 
who  talks  of  putting  ore  in  a  'paddock'  is  offering  not 
information,  but  a  riddle,  to  the  Canadian.  The  use  of 
spurious  words  or  the  colloquial  jargon  of  the  illiterate 
tends  to  take  us  back  to  the  monkey  stage,  for  man 's  chief 
distinction  from  the  lower  animals  is  his  gift  of  intelli- 
gent speech. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  29 

THE   MATTER   OF   EDUCATION. 

Technical  men,  such  as  engineers  and  geologists,  are 
not  always  graduates  from  a  university  nor,  even  if  they 
happen  to  have  received  a  liberal  education,  are  they 
necessarily  well  trained  in  the  use  of  the  English  lan- 
guage— that  is,  the  training  founded  upon  lessons  in  the 
languages  of  antiquity,  followed  by  familiarity  with  the 
classics  of  their  own  tongue.  Undoubtedly  such  a  prepa- 
ration is  useful,  but  the  value  of  it  can  be  over-estimated. 
Not  long  ago  a  mining  engineer,  who  occasionally  con- 
tributes to  technical  journals,  took  pains  to  explain  to  me 
that  he  was  not  a  college  man,  as  if  to  excuse  the  lack 
of  finish  in  his  writing.  It  seems  worth  while  to  dwell  on 
this  point,  in  order  to  encourage  those  who  have  both 
knowledge  and  ability  to  write  intelligently,  without  the 
aid  of  previous  teaching  either  in  Greek  and  Latin  or  in 
Milton  and  Meredith.  To  be  taught  a  language  systemat- 
ically is  like  any  other  form  of  mental  training,  it  is  a 
short-cut  to  efficiency,  enabling  the  student  to  acquire, 
rapidly  and  thoroughly,  such  skill  as  would  otherwise  be 
attained  only  laboriously  and  imperfectly.  Nevertheless, 
there  are  those  that  have  taught  themselves,  by  practice 
and  association,  whether  of  men  or  books,  to  write  well 
the  language  of  foreign  lands  or  of  their  own ;  on  the 
other  hand,  there  are  many  owners  of  a  university  diploma 
that  have  so  skillfully  evaded  instruction  in  the  proper 
use  of  their  own  language,  not  to  mention  a  foreign 
tongue,  that  they  are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  illite- 
rate. The  modest  fellow  who  excused  himself  to  me,  on 
the  occasion  above  mentioned,  had  learned  to  write  in  a 
straight-forward  unpretentious  way,  which  in  itself  con- 


30  A  GUIDE  TO 

stituted  the  style  best  adapted  to  technology.  He  might 
lack  the  classical  learning  required  of  a  man  competent 
to  undertake  the  preparation  of  a  'Synthetic  Philosophy' 
or  'The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,'  or  an 
'  Essay  on  Criticism, '  but  for  the  purpose  in  hand,  namely, 
to  describe  an  ore  deposit  or  discuss  a  problem  in  metal- 
lurgy, he  was  adequately  equipped.  Rhetorical  confec- 
tionery and  frills  of  any  kind  are  out  of  place  in  tech- 
nical writing,  except  on  rare  occasions.  The  sort  of  self- 
consciousness  that  leads  to  verbal  gymnastics  is  in  itself 
bad  form  and  it  is  affected  only  by  the  half-educated. 
There  is  the  simplicity  of  diction  marking  the  man  ac- 
quainted with  several  languages  and  the  master  of  at 
least  one  of  them;  and  there  is  the  simplicity  of  unpre- 
tentious speech  belonging  to  the  man  who  has  but  a 
working  knowledge  of  his  own  language,  and  makes  the 
most  of  the  instrument  at  his  command.  Between  them 
comes  the  writer  who  ought  to  know  better,  but,  from 
conceit  or  ignorance,  deems  it  a  waste  of  energy  to  use 
his  verbal  weapons  so  that  they  shape  his  thoughts  into 
carven  words,  whether  vitalized  in  the  speech  of  the  mo- 
ment or  sculptured  in  the  writing  that  lives. 

Two  examples,  founded  on  fact,  will  illustrate  my  argu- 
ment. I  had  the  pleasure  of  editing  a  long  and  detailed 
article  describing  the  operations  of  a  certain  metallurgical 
process;  there  was  no  room  for  a  literary  pose,  the  whole 
account  was  eminently  practical  and  businesslike.  This 
article  was  so  well  written  as  to  require  scarcely  any  edit- 
ing, and  when  it  was  published  I  referred  gratefully  to 
the  excellence  of  the  writing.  Happening  to  discuss  the 
incident  with  a  friend,  who  knew  the  writer  of  the  article 
personally — as  I  did  not — this  common  friend  asked  me 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  31 

to  guess  for  what  occupation  the  writer  had  been  trained, 
and  I  answered:  "The  ministry."  This  happened  to  be 
exactly  right,  for  he  had  been  to  Oxford  and  was  intended 
for  the  Church  before  he  wandered  into  a  cyanide  mill. 
All  the  marks  were  there,  such  as  a  quiet  command  of 
English  and  a  masterful  use  of  it,  making  a  difficult  bit 
of  technical  exposition  as  clear  and  interesting  as  the 
subject  permitted.  And  since  "the  home  of  lost  causes" 
is  not  my  alma  mater,  I  am  glad  to  acknowledge  the  value 
of  Oxonian  English  in  the  literature  of  science.  More  of 
it  would  be  a  great  relief  to  the  readers — not  to  mention 
the  hard-working  editors — of  technical  periodicals. 

My  other  example  is  less  different  than,  at  first  sight, 
it  may  appear.  I  have  in  mind  an  article  describing  min- 
ing conditions  in  a  Central  American  republic.  Such 
descriptions  are  usually  made  as  verbally  florid  as  the 
vegetation  of  the  tropics  and  they  are  frequently  as  in- 
volved as  the  jungle  itself;  at  the  best,  it  is  customary  to 
bespatter  them  with  unnecessary  Spanish  words  and  to 
deal  in  gorgeous  generalities  supposed  to  indicate  the 
unlimited  mineral  resources  of  an  inaccessible  region. 
From  all  these  common  faults,  this  article  was  free.  The 
sentences  were  short  and  to  the  point.  The  statements 
conveyed  information  and  yet  avoided  exaggeration.  The 
writer  kept  what  he  knew  at  first  hand  separate  from 
what  he  had  merely  been  told;  he  gave  just  the  data  the 
average  intelligent  reader  would  be  likely  to  want,  and  a 
touch  of  humor  was  not  lacking  in  a  reference  to  the 
queer  things  that  happen  on  the  Spanish-American  fron- 
tier. It  was  like  the  sensible  talk  of  an  intelligent  trav- 
eler who  had  kept  his  eyes  open  and  his  notebook  handy. 
The  writer  had  received  no  special  training  in  his  own  Ian- 


32  A  GUIDE  TO 

guage,  nor  in  that  of  another;  as  the  graduate  of  a  tech- 
nical college  he  had  been  given  rather  more  of  contempt 
than  love  for  the  use  of  proper  words  in  proper  places, 
and  yet,  by  native  intelligence  and  the  desire  to  do  his 
task  well — his  task  being  to  tell  what  he  knew  of  mining 
in  this  particular  region — he  had  succeeded  in  preparing 
a  contribution  that  was  in  its  way  as  good  as  that  of  the 
Oxford  man.  Both  men  were  unaffected,  both  kept  in 
mind  the  purpose  of  the  writing,  and  both  knew  what 
they  were  talking  about.  The  moral  of  it  all  is  that  bad 
writing  is  due  either  to  insincerity,  or  carelessness,  or 
ignorance. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  33 

HYPHENS. 

Hyphens  may  be  considered  ungainly,  but  they  are 
necessities  in  technical  writing,  where  materials  and 
machinery  are  continually  being  described  under  condi- 
tions modifying  each  other.  There  is  a  varying  degree 
of  intimacy  between  adjacent  words.  This  is  expressed 
in  three  ways : 

1.  Mere  juxtaposition  of  separate  words,  indicating  a 
loose  connection. 

2.  Hyphenation,    implying    intimacy    without    entire 
loss  of  individuality. 

3.  Compounds,  expressing  a  singleness  of  meaning. 
Thus:  An  'ore  deposit'  is  a  deposit  of  ore,  and  you  can 

drive  a  cross-cut  to  find  either  the  deposit  or  the  ore. 
Moreover,  a  deposit  is  not  necessarily  composed  of  ore ;  it 
may  consist  of  mud  or  guano.  Likewise  the  ore  may  not 
be  in  the  form  of  a  deposit;  it  may  be  in  a  mill-bin,  or  in 
a  furnace.  In  the  case  of  an  '  ore-shoot '  there  is  a  duality, 
but  not  a  separateness,  of  meaning,  and  while  the  shoot 
may  be  mentioned  by  itself  the  idea  of  ore  is  assumed,  this 
intimacy  being  recognized  by  hyphenation.  Finally,  in 
'orebody,'  we  have  a  true  compound,  for  the  miner  does 
not  drive  his  drift  to  discover  some  indeterminate  kind 
of  body,  nor  does  he  say  that  the  body  is  large  or  rich; 
he  speaks  of  orebody  as  signifying  one  idea,  the  separate 
portions  of  which,  the  body  (substance)  and  the  ore  (at- 
tributive), are  completely  merged  in  the  notion  of  a  mass 
of  valuable  rock,  constituting  an  orebody.  Another  ex- 
ample may  be  given,  thus  : 

A  blackbird  cage  is  a  cage  for  the  songster  known  as 
the  blackbird. 


34  A  GUIDE  TO 

A  black-bird  cage  is  a  cage  for  birds  that  are  black. 

A  black  bird-cage  is  a  black  cage  for  birds. 

A  black  bird  cage  might  mean  a  black  cage  for  birds,  or 
a  cage  for  black  birds,  or  a  cage  for  blackbirds.  Unless 
two  of  the  three  words  are  hyphenated  or  compounded, 
the  meaning  remains  unknown.  Further  examples  refer- 
ring to  technical  subjects  will  make  clear  the  service  done 
by  hyphens. 

A  single-stamp  mill  is  one  possessing  batteries  of  one 
stamp  apiece,  like  the  Nissen  stamp,  instead  of  the  usual 
five. 

A  single  stamp-mill  is  a  lonely  mill,  like  some  to  be  seen 
in  the  deserts  of  Nevada. 

A  single-stamp-mill  possesses  only  one  stamp,  after  the 
Lake  Superior  fashion,  where  one  big  steam-stamp  does 
the  work  of  150  ordinary  gravity  stamps. 

A  crude  ore-bin  is  an  ore-bin  of  crude  construction;  a 
crude-ore  bin  is  one  made  to  contain  crude  ore,  that  is, 
ore  as  it  comes  from  the  mine,  before  concentration  in  the 
mill;  a  crude  ore  bin  is  an  example  of  crude  writing. 

In  the  manufacture  of  nitro-glycerine  the  charge  is 
'drowned'  in  a  large  volume  of  cold  water;  the  recep- 
tacle in  which  this  is  done  is  termed  the  '  drowning-tank. ' 
Should  the  hyphen  be  omitted,  it  might  be  supposed  that 
the  tank  was  drowning  and  sympathy  would  be  needlessly 
excited.  Similar  examples  are  cooling-floor,  roasting- 
hearth,  grinding-plate,  settling-vat,  amalgamating-pan, 
and  so  forth. 

The  first  part  of  these  compound  words  is  a  gerund; 
that  is,  it  is  a  verbal  noun  identical  in  form  with  the  parti- 
ciple; the  participle  is  an  adjective,  but  the  gerund  is  a 
noun  that  has  the  power  to  govern  another  noun.  For 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  35 

example:  A  cooling  floor  is  one  that,  having  been  hot, 
is  becoming  cold.  Here  cooling  is  a  participle  serving  as 
an  adjective.  A  cooling-floor  is  a  floor  upon  which  hot 
ore  is  placed  for  the  purpose  of  cooling;  in  other  words, 
it  is  a  floor  employed  for  cooling  ore.  Here  cooling  is  a 
gerund,  doing  duty  as  a  noun. 

Hyphenation  is  necessary  to  prevent  ambiguity.  Thus 
a  settling-vat  is  a  vat  in  which  particles  of  ore  are  likely 
to  settle,  but  a  settling  vat  is  one  that  is  subsiding,  for 
example,  by  reason  of  a  landslip  or  bad  foundation.  A 
zinc  box  is  made  of  zinc,  but  a  zinc-box  contains  zinc ;  for 
example,  the  compartments  in  which  zinc  is  placed  in 
order  to  precipitate  gold  from  cyanide  solutions.  These 
boxes  are  precipitating-boxes,  not  precipitating  boxes,  be- 
cause they  do  not  precipitate  the  gold,  they  merely  afford 
the  facilities  for  the  precipitation.  A  slag-pot  receives 
slag ;  it  is  not  made  of  slag,  as  is  a  slag  pile. 

The  following  quotation  vividly  illustrates  the  value  of 
the  hyphen:  "Iron  screens  in  zinc  boxes  are  detrimental 
in  as  much  as  they  facilitate  solution  of  zinc."  The 
screens  are  made  of  iron  and  they  are  placed  in  wooden 
boxes,  into  which  zinc  shaving  also  is  introduced;  the 
boxes  are  not  made  of  zinc,  although  the  sentence  says  so. 
It  ought  to  read:  "Iron  screens  in  zinc-boxes  are  detri- 
mental because  they  facilitate  the  solution  of  zinc." 

A  roasting-furnace  is  one  in  which  ore  is  roasted.  The 
furnace  does  not  do  the  roasting,  but  the  fuel  that  is  in  it. 
A  roasting  furnace  is  one  that  is  being  consumed  by  exces- 
sive heat,  as  in  a  conflagration.  A  grinding  plate  is  one 
that  grinds,  but  usually  it  is  a  grinding-plate,  that  is,  a 
piece  of  steel  or  iron  by  the  medium  of  which  the  ore  is 
ground  against  another  hard  surface.  It  is  a  plate  for 


36  A  GUIDE  TO 

grinding.  Likewise  an  amalgamating-pan  is  one  in  which 
the  process  of  amalgamation  or  combination  with  mer- 
cury is  effected;  it  is  not  the  pan  that  does  the  work; 
it  only  provides  the  receptacle  in  which  the  action  takes 
place.  If  it  were  the  active  agent,  as  sometimes  the  iron 
is  actually  supposed  to  be  in  the  chemistry  of  the  process, 
then  indeed  it  would  be  correct  to  call  it  an  amalgamating 
pan,  without  hyphenation.  Familiar  examples  are  carv- 
ing-knife, walking-stick,  and  chewing-gum. 

"Brown  agitating  tank."  This  might  suggest  that  a 
tank  that  was  brown  in  color  was  being  agitated.  Each 
word  needs  amendment.  On  reading  the  context,  the 
reader  could  ascertain  that  it  was  not  a  tank  but  a  vat, 
for  cyanidation;  it  was  a  vat  in  which  the  solution  was 
agitated;  it  was  the  invention  of  Brown.  Therefore,  the 
title  should  be  Brown's  agitating-vat  (that  is,  vat  for  agi- 
tating) or  agitator-vat. 

Between  true  nouns  the  hyphen  may  be  needed  to  mark 
intimacy  between  words.  Thus:  "The  gases  are  taken 
into  steel  dust-chambers  where  a  large  proportion  of  the 
flue  dust  is  settled."  A  hyphen  is  needed  after  the  first 
dust,  otherwise  it  may  be  chambers  containing  steel-dust, 
and  not  dust-chambers  made  of  steel,  as  is  meant.  Flue 
dust  also  requires  hyphenation;  the  dust  does  not  con- 
sist of  flues. 

A  wet-milling  plant  is  one  in  which  a  wet  process  is 
employed,  while  a  wet  milling-plant  is  a  mill  in  which 
water  is  wasted;  it  is  a  sloppy  establishment. 

In  some  cases  the  hyphen  is  needed  to  prevent  confu- 
sion or  to  give  emphasis  to  the  meaning  of  the  prefix  re 
as  in: 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  37 

Re-treat  (to  treat  over  again),  which  might  be  mistaken 
for  retreat  (to  retire). 

Reconstruct  is  equivalent  to  rebuild  but  re-construct 
goes  a  little  further,  as  if  to  say  that  it  is  being  built  all 
over  again.  Before  a  word  beginning  with  a  vowel  a 
hyphen  is  especially  desirable,  as  in  re-ignite,  re-imburse, 
re-incorporate.  The  prefix  re  is  given  with  varying  em- 
phasis, as  in  relegate  and  re-locate;  in  the  latter  the  idea 
of  repetition  of  the  act  of  locating  is  strong,  therefore  we 
write  re-locate  and  not  relocate.  In  co-operate  and  co- 
ordinate the  hyphen  takes  the  place  of  a  dieresis. 

Between  numbers  expressing  a  range  of  measure  or 
quantity,  it  is  well  to  avoid  using  a  hyphen.  Thus :  * '  The 
addition  of  5-7  c.c.  of  preventive  solution"  is  improved 
by  writing  "5  to  7  c.c.,"  for  a  dash  in  the  manuscript 
might  be  taken  for  a  period;  in  reading  we  say  "to," 
therefore  it  is  well  to  write  it. 

The  fifty-first  means  the  one  coming  after  fifty,  but  the 
fifty  first  are  the  fifty  that  come  first,  or  the  first  fifty. 

The  hyphen  is  not  needed  between  adjectives,  as  light 
blue,  yellowish  green,  where  the  first  plays  the  part  of  an 
adverb.  In  blue-black  it  seems  unavoidable. 

Between  an  adverb  and  a  participle  (even  in  an  adjec- 
tival form)  the  hyphen  is  not  required,  thus :  well  defined, 
finely  developed. 

Two  nouns  should  be  hyphenated  if  they  are  brought 
together  to  name  one  thing  and  neither  of  them  is  used 
distinctively  in  the  adjectival  sense.  Such  compounds  are 
elliptical  condensations  of  a  phrase,  and  the  normal  se- 
quence of  the  words  is  inverted.  Thus  we  have  freight- 
train  (train  for  freight),  foot-note  (note  at  the  foot), 
field-work  (work  in  the  field). 


38  A  GUIDE  TO 

Two  words  grouped  in  an  attributive  position  seem  to 
be  welded  together,  but  when  they  are  in  the  predicate 
they  appear  to  have  an  independent  meaning.  The  attrib- 
utive group  is  hyphenated,  while  the  predicate  is  not;  in 
the  predicate  the  adverb  is  stronger,  thus : 

1.  "I  followed  the  half-obliterated  footsteps. ' ' 

2.  "The  footsteps  were  half  obliterated." 

Of  course,  hyphenation  can  be  carried  too  far,  and  it 
has  been  abused  even  by  good  writers  for  the  reason, 
among  others,  that  they  have  developed  the  habit  from 
familiarity  with  German,  a  language  in  which  compound- 
ing is  carried  to  a  distressing  extreme.  Thus  we  read : 

1.  "The  supply  of  lead-ore  at  any  particular  plant." 

2.  "These     magnetite-deposits     are     associated    with 
gneisses. ' ' 

3.  "The  nickel  in  an  iron-ore  would  be  of  value." 

4.  "Decrease  in  the  residual  sulphur-values,  indicating 
a  greater  sulphur-removal. ' ' 

5.  "The  use  of  mining-machinery  during  a  period  of 
five  years." 

6.  "Comparatively  few  bituminous  coal-mines  can  be 
equipped. ' ' 

7.  "The  several  makes  to-day  differ  only  in  details." 

8.  "Under  every-day  working-conditions." 

These  examples  are  taken  from  a  few  pages  of  Vol. 
XXIX,  of  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Mining  Engineers.  In  most  instances  the  hyphens  are  not 
needed,  for  they  do  not  make  the  meaning  clearer;  they 
are  not  regrettable  necessities,  but  avoidable  disfigure- 
ments. In  several  cases  the  use  of  them  can  be  set  aside 
advantagously,  for  "these  deposits  of  magnetite"  is  pref- 


(UNIVERSITY 
V 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  39 


erable  to  " these  magnetite  deposits."  In  the  fourth  ex- 
ample, the  hyphen  is  awkward.  In  the  fifth  it  seems 
wholly  unnecessary.  In  the  sixth,  it  is  not  the  mines 
but  the  coal  that  is  bituminous,  therefore  it  ought  to  be 
bituminous-coal  mines.  To-day  does  not  need  a  hyphen: 
it  is  a  compound  so  familiar  as  to  have  attained  the  mean- 
ing of  a  single  word.  In  the  last  example  we  have  a  Ger- 
manized construction  that  is  expressive  but  awkward; 
there  is  nothing  gained  and  something  lost  by  the  use  of 
the  hyphens.  Why  not  write :  ' '  Under  everyday  condi- 
tions of  work."  It  is  well  to  make  technical  writing  as 
attractive  as  the  subject  will  permit. 

Hyphenation  represents  an  early  stage  of  union.  After 
a  while,  by  use,  the  association  of  ideas  becomes  fixed, 
so  that  the  pair  of  words  is  wedded,  forming  a  literary 
unit.  The  chief  reason  for  hyphenation  of  two  words  is 
that  when  so  connected  they  have  a  meaning  slightly  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  they  convey  when  given  sepa- 
rately. But  it  will  not  do  to  lean  too  heavily  on  the 
hyphen;  illustrations  of  distinctions  can  be  given,  as 
above,  but  in  practice  it  is  well  to  avoid  all  risk  of  confu- 
sion. In  speaking  there  is  a  variation  of  pronunciation 
between  the  members  of  a  hyphenated  couple,  affording 
a  subtle  distinction  not  transferable  to  written  language. 
In  writing,  the  desire  to  be  lucid  should  be  the  controlling 
factor. 


40  A  GUIDE  TO 

SOME  WORDS  AND  THEIR  WAYS. 

The  description  of  metallurgical  processes  and  the  ex- 
planation of  technical  methods,  whether  in  mine  or  mill, 
will  be  rendered  clearer,  and  therefore  more  useful,  by 
the  selection  of  the  right  words. 

Vat  and  tank  are  used  as  synonyms,  tank  having  come 
into  general  use  in  connection  with  cyanide  work.  This 
is  unfortunate.  A  tank  is  a  large  vessel  or  receptacle, 
made  either  of  wood  or  of  metal,  intended  to  contain  a 
fluid,  such  as  gas  or  water.  'Water  tank'  and  'gasoline 
tank'  represent  correct  usage.  The  transfer  of  the  word 
to  chemistry  is  not  warranted.  For  that  purpose  we  have 
vat,  that  is,  a  vessel  or  tub  in  which  ore  is  washed  or  sub- 
jected to  chemical  treatment.  'Cyanide  vat'  and  'chlori- 
nation  vat'  are  correct.  Because  illiterate  and  non-tech- 
nical people  use  technical  terms  wrongly,  engineers  are 
not  justified  in  adopting  sloppy  ways  of  speech. 

Ledge,  reef,  and  lead  afford  examples  of  the  same  kind. 
Ledge  and  reef  are  localisms,  originating  in  California 
and  Australia,  based  on  early  geological  misconceptions 
of  the  nature  of  a  'lode'  or  'vein.'  Ledge  refers  to  the 
prominence  of  the  outcrop  and  reef  to  the  projecting  edge, 
resembling  the  rocks  that  endanger  navigation.  There  is 
no  need  of  these  terms  now.  In  so  far  as  they  have  a 
special  significance,  it  is  misleading.  As  to  lead,  it  is  a 
good  old  term,  for  it  is  allied  to  'lode'  and  indicates  the 
meaning  of  the  latter,  as  something  that  leads  the  miner 
in  his  exploration,  but  the  term  is  now  applied  exclusively 
to  gravel  deposits,  as  in  'deep  lead,'  which  is  an  alluvial 
channel  blanketed  by  lava.  Lead  should  not  be  used  as  a 
synonym  for  'vein'  or  'lode.' 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  41 

Sulphuret  is  rarely  used  nowadays  save  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  It  is  a  term  that  some  people  who  ought  to  know 
better  use  in  place  of  'sulphide.'  Sulphuret  was  used  at 
one  time  to  designate  the  earthy  sulphates  formed  in  the 
early  stages  of  oxidation  of  sulphides,  but  this  distinc- 
tion is  no  longer  observed  and  the  term  is  now  a  mere 
localism,  without  special  meaning.  'Concentrate'  and 
'sulphide'  are  preferable. 

The  use  of  the  term  country  rock  amounts  to  tautology, 
as  was  pointed  out  by  Le  Neve  Foster  many  years  ago. 
If  we  could  agree  to  use  country  by  itself,  it  would  be 
well.  Obviously  it  must  be  rock,  although  we  read  some- 
time ago  in  a  Colorado  paper  of  a  drift  that  was  "in  no 
formation,"  meaning  thereby  that  it  was  in  rock  of  no 
definite  structure.  The  workings  of  a  mine  cannot  pene- 
trate anything  but  rock,  unless  it  be' a  snow-drift,  as  hap- 
pened once  in  the  case  of  some  crafty  contractors,  who 
closely  timbered  50  ft.  of  an  adit  that  went  through  a 
snowslide  before  it  became  a  bore  in  a  granite  mountain. 

Vein-stone  is  a  similar  survival  from  the  days  when 
mining  literature  was  written  for  people  that  were  not 
supposed  to  know  anything  about  such  matters.  And 
thus  we  come  to  Australian  usage,  which  is  derived  from 
untechnical  sources.  At  Bendigo  and  Ballarat  they  talk 
of  "good-looking  stone,"  meaning  'ore';  of  "a  make  of 
stone, ' '  meaning  an  '  ore-shoot ' ;  they  strike  ' '  rich  gold ' ' 
in  a  shaft  and  find  "poor  gold"  in  a  cross-cut,  meaning 
quartz  rich  or  poor  in  gold.  These  terms  appear  even  in 
Australian  mine  reports  that  are  prepared  by  educated 
men,  who  simply  get  their  terminology  from  illiterate 
workmen. 

Fully  as  bad  is  the  usage  obtaining  in  the  Lake  Supe- 


42  A  GUIDE  TO 

rior  copper  mines,  where  they  exploit  copper  rock  and 
obtain  mineral.  For  the  use  of  rock  instead  of  'ore' 
there  is  no  excuse  whatever;  for  mineral,  meaning 
the  native  copper  extracted  by  milling,  there  is  some 
reason,  for  is  it  not  the  mineral  in  that  region?  It 
is  a  localism  that  has  become  rooted  by  repetition.  But 
no  self-respecting  engineer  ought  to  use  rock  in  the  Ke- 
weenaw  way. 

Then  there  is  mineralization,  to  which  some  object.  It 
comes  to  us  from  the  French,  who  will  say  that  an  ore  is 
lien  mineralise,  just  as  we  (with  an  apology)  may  say  that 
it  is  'well  mineralized.'  Minerai  is  French  for  'ore'  and 
mineralise  is  employed  as  the  corresponding  adjective, 
despite  its  derivation  from  mineral.  When  we  use  'min- 
eralized' and  'mineralization,'  we  mean  that  the  rock  is 
full  of  the  valuable  minerals  that  constitute,  or  else  accom- 
pany, ore,  but  as  we  do  not  hark  back  to  mineral,  our  use 
of  these  English  terms  is  not  academic.  However,  in  de- 
fault of  better  terms,  mineralized  and  mineralization  are 
acceptable. 

In  Australia  they  call  a  level  in  a  mine  a  drive,  and  this 
is  the  custom  among  Englishmen  generally.  In  America 
we  say  drift,  and  this  is  correct.  A  miner  drives  his 
working  ahead  and  the  result  is  a  drift.  For  example,  it 
is  correct  to  say: 

1.  "Ten  feet  of  driving  was  accomplished." 

2.  ' '  The  north  drift  was  advanced  five  feet. ' ' 

3.  ' '  The  lessees  drove  the  drift  as  rapidly  as  possible. ' ' 
Similarly,  in  regard  to  another  form  of  mine  working, 

you  rise  and  the  result  is  a  raise.  It  should  never  be  up- 
raise, as  sometimes  appears  in  reports  on  mines.  Down- 
winze  would  be  no  worse. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  43 

It  is  unfortunate  that  in  so  good  a  book  as  Le  Neve 
Foster's  *  Textbook  of  Stone  and  Ore  Mining'  he  should 
have  given  chute  as  the  American  equivalent  of  'ore- 
shoot' — which  it  is  not.  The  employment  of  chute  instead 
of  shoot  to  describe  an  orebody  of  definite  shape  and  pitch 
is  now  an  English  error,  for  it  is  rare  in  America.  An 
error  it  is.  Chute  is  a  mode  of  spelling  'shute,'  which  is 
an  inclined  trough  for  conveying  materials.  Thus: 

"The  ore  broken  from  the  new  ore-shoot  passes  down 
the  chute  that  leads  to  the  mill. ' ' 

The  distinction,  now  fairly  well  established,  between 
these  two  terms  is  worthy  of  general  adoption  among 
English-speaking  technical  men. 

Tunnel  is  commonly  employed  to  designate  a  drift  or 
level  penetrating  a  hillside;  this  is  wrong,  for  a  'tunnel' 
is  a  gallery  or  bore  that  goes  through  a  mountain  from 
daylight  to  daylight,  as  a  railroad  'tunnel'  does.  The 
long  cross-cut  or  drift  that  enters  from  the  surface,  be- 
coming the  main  artery  of  the  mine,  serving  both  as  an 
exit  and  to  drain  the  workings,  may  best  be  labeled  an 
adit,  which  is  a  good  old  technical  word  long  known  to 
miners.  On  the  other  hand,  the  short  drifts  or  levels  that 
are  run  by  prospectors  into  the  hillsides  of  our  mining  re- 
gions, and  which  cannot  well  be  called  by  so  big  a  name  as 
adit,  need  not  be  called  tunnels,  seeing  that  'prospecting 
drift'  or  'exploratory  level'  or  plain  drift  or  level  will 
serve  for  the  purpose.  The  French  have  galerie  and  we 
sometimes  use  the  English  equivalent,  but  it  has  become 
archaic. 

When  words  have  a  prescribed  duty  to  perform  in 
technology,  it  is  well  to  limit  their  use  to  a  particular 
meaning.  Thus  locate  and  location  are  employed  in  min- 


44  A  GUIDE  TO 

ing  to  signify,  respectively,  the  act  of  delimiting  a  claim 
and  the  claim  when  thus  delimited.  It  is  a  common  error 
to  use  locate  instead  of  place,  situate,  reside,  find,  etc., 
as  in  the  following  examples : 

1.  "The  company  located  the  mill  on  the  side  of  Gold 
hill." 

2.  "The  town  is  located  on  Alder  creek." 

3.  "He  was  located  at  Tonopah." 

4.  "The  superintendent  located  the  ore-shoot  at  the 
fourth  level." 

5.  "Where  the  office,  quarters  for  men,  and  ore-bins 
are  to  be  located. 

In  the  first  it  would  be  right  to  say  that  the  millsite  was 
located  at  a  certain  place,  but  the  building  itself  was  built, 
or  erected  there.  The  second  case  is  common ;  the  town  is 
situated,  although  the  townsite  might  be  located,  on  the 
creek.  The  third  is  an  ugly  colloquialism.  It  should  be : 
"He  resided  at  Tonopah,"  or  plainly,  "he  lived"  there. 
In  the  fourth,  the  writer  means  that  the  position  of  the 
ore-shoot  was  ascertained,  or  briefly,  that  "the  superin- 
tendent found  the  ore-shoot."  In  the  fifth,  built  will 
state  the  meaning. 

6.  "Ore  has  been  found  on  four  new  locations  on  the 
property. ' '    He  does  not  mean  what  he  says,  for  he  states 
that  ore  has  been  found  on  four  new  claims  (that  have 
been  located,  but  not  patented).     He  means  four  new 
places  or  spots  or  points. 

7.  In  one  of  the  Geological  Survey  reports  it  is  writ- 
ten: "In  planning  the  position  of  stopes  the  assay  charts 
often  enable  the  location  of  pillars  in  relatively  poor  ma- 
terial. ' '     This  should  read :  "In  platting  the  stopes.  the 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  45 

assay-charts  often  indicate  the  best  position  for  pillars  in 
the  relatively  poor  lode-matter. 

The  last  abomination  in  the  way  of  making  locate  do 
improper  service  is  that  which  I  saw  lately  in  a  news- 
paper heading ;  it  appears  that  a  man  had  found  his  miss- 
ing wife,  and  the  fact  was  announced  thus :  * '  Locates  his 
wife  in  Napa. " 

A  test  for  the  use  of  words  is  furnished  by  translating 
such  sentences  into  a  foreign  language,  when  it  will  be 
noted  that  the  translator  will  disregard  the  colloquialisms, 
finding  it  necessary  to  adopt  the  equivalents  of  the  words 
that  ought  to  have  been  employed. 

Section  is  another  word  that,  despite  a  specific  meaning, 
is  employed  for  sundry  purposes.  One  would  not  use  a 
pair  of  compasses  as  a  fork  nor  a  scalpel  to  cut  bread. 
Precision  of  speech  is  required  to  express  scientific  ideas, 
and  we  lose  such  precision  by  making  technical  words  do 
the  chores  of  literary  work.  Here  are  some  examples : 

1.  "The  richest  section  of  this  mining  district." 

2.  "They  have  as  good  a  property  as  there  is  in  that 
section  of  the  camp." 

3.  "In  the  southern  section  of  the  State,  they  grow 
oranges. ' ' 

In  all  of  these,  part  or  portion  is  meant.  Section  means 
the  view  of  something  along  an  intersecting  plane,  as  used 
in  geology  or  drawing.  As  the  subdivision  of  a  township, 
another  meaning  has  been  established.  These  are  enough ; 
for  other  purposes  we  have  other  words.  Even  the  Ameri- 
can Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  might 
have  spared  the  word  from  doing  duty  to  designate  the 
divisions  into  which  the  Association  is  separated  for  the 
discussion  of  different  subjects,  so  that  there  is  a  'Section 


46  A  GUIDE  TO 

of  Geology/  another  of  Astronomy,  and  so  forth.  But  it 
is  too  much  to  expect  scientific  men  to  make  a  study  of 
the  use  of  language;  in  that,  they  continue  to  be  far  be- 
hind people  of  lower  intelligence. 

The  words  dip,  hade,  and  pitch  are  used  confusedly.  It 
will  be  well  to  apply  dip  to  the  inclination  (from  the  hori- 
zontal) of  strata,  veins,  and  faults,  rejecting  hade  as  a 
term  no  longer  necessary  and  only  likely  to  make  confu- 
sion, because  it  refers  to  the  angle  from  the  vertical.  The 
angle  made  by  an  ore-shoot  in  the  plane  of  the  vein  is  its 
pitch;  this  also  should  be  measured  from  the  horizontal. 
Thus: 

1.  "The  pitch  of  the  apex  of  the  saddles  at  Bendigo 
ranges  from  10  to  30°,  either  north  or  south." 

2.  The  main  orebody  had  a  pitch  of  80°  southeast." 
The  word  slimer  is  used  by  several  manufacturers  of 

machinery  to  describe  a  device  for  treating  slime,  by 
concentration  of  the  valuable  minerals  in  it.  A  slimer 
is  a  machine  that  makes  slime ;  such  is  a  tube-mill.  A 
slime-table  is  one  that  treats  this  mill-product. 

"John  Smith  is  manager  of  the  Great  Bullion  Co."  No, 
he  is  manager  for  the  company,  and  manager  of  the  mine. 
Similarly,  he  may  be  consulting  engineer  to  the  neigh- 
boring mining  company. 

Use  lessee,  not  leaser;  the  latter  is  a  mere  vulgarism 
and  apt  to  be  confused  with  the  lessor,  who  is  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  fence.  As  explained  elsewhere,  leaser  is 
really  a  variation  of  lessor. 

"A  partial  history  of  the  district  indicates  that,  etc." 
Meaning  a  part  history  or  an  incomplete  history  or  a 
portion  of  the  history,  but  not  a  prejudiced  history,  as 
might  well  be  supposed. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  47 

"At  times  the  ore  is  very  rich."    Meaning,  in  places. 

A  curious  example  of  the  misuse  of  technical  terms  is 
afforded  by  Gilpin  county,  Colorado,  where  it  has  become 
the  local  habit  to  speak  of  the  concentrate  saved  on  shak- 
ing tables  as  'tailings.'  It  is  literally  a  contradiction  in 
terms. 

Value. — The  misuse  of  this  word,  and  its  plural,  is  a 
good  example  of  a  colloquialism,  harmless  enough  in  a 
stope  or  in  a  mill,  but  a  solecism  in  literature.  It  is  also 
an  instance  of  the  employment  of  the  abstract  for  the 
concrete,  one  of  the  primary  blunders  in  poor  writing. 
"This  mill  is  intended  to  extract  the  values  in  the  ore" 
is  a  vague  way  of  saying  that  it  is  meant  to  extract  the 
gold  or  lead  or  silver  or  the  valuable  metals  in  the  ore. 
Value  is  the  desirability  or  worth  of  a  thing;  it  is  an 
attribute,  not  a  substance.  A  man  that  designs  a  concen- 
trator to  "catch  the  values,"  might  as  well  build  a  rail- 
road to  pursue  a  quadratic  equation.  Nevertheless,  this 
vulgarism  of  the  mining  camp  has  crept  into  technical 
literature,  and  it  can  be  found  in  articles  otherwise  well 
edited.  Here  are  some  examples: 

1.  "In  sinking  the  values  were  lost."     Meaning  that 
the  ore  became  poor,  or  that  the  valuable  ore  ended. 

2.  "The  vanner    saved  all  the  values  in    the    ore." 
Meaning,  the  valuable  minerals  that  the  ore  contained, 
or  all  that  was  valuable  in  it. 

3.  "And  then  the  gold  values  are  precipitated  on  zinc 
shavings. ' '    No,  it  is  the  metallic  gold  that  is  precipitated ; 
you  can  precipitate  a  panic  by  reckless  banking,  but  you 
dont  precipitate  anything  so  vague  as  values  on  some- 
thing so  tangible  as  zinc  shaving. 

4.  "In  this  region  there  are  found  ore  deposits,  prin- 


48  A  GUIDE  TO 

cipally  with  gold  and  copper  values."     Meaning,  chiefly 
valuable  for  gold  and  copper. 

5.  "With    the  development  of  values  in  the  quartz 
veins  south  of  the  Butte  hill,  there  has  been  a  scramble  for 
claims. ' '    It  would  be  better  to  say,  ' '  When  it  was  proved 
that  the  quartz  veins  were  valuable,  etc." 

6.  "The  mill  will  be  used  to  test  the  copper  values  of 
the  rock  from  the  Nonesuch  mine."    Meaning,  the  value 
of  the  ore  as  regards  copper,  or  its  copper  content. 

7.  '  *  The  gold  values  being  largely  free-milling. ' '  Here 
the  objectionable  word  can  be  dropped  entirely.    It  is  the 
metal  in  its  native  state  that  is  docile  to  treatment. 

8.  "Where  cemented  ground  is  handled,  ample  provi- 
sion must  be  made  for  breaking  up  the  gravel  and  sepa- 
rating the  values."     In  the  first  place  you  do  not  break 
gravel  up  or  down;  here  'disintegrate'  is  meant.    You  do 
not  separate  the  values,  except  on  an  accountant's  page; 
here  it  is  the  gold  and  platinum  that  were  separated  from 
the  matrix  of  gravel. 

9.  "The  Broken  Hill  ore  assays  16%  lead,  15%  zinc, 
and  11  oz.  silver.    Until  a  few  years  ago  of  these  values 
only  65%  of  the  lead  and  between  45  and  50%  of  the 
silver  was  saved."    No  values  are  stated.    Valuable  met- 
als are  indicated.     By  omitting  "of  these  values,"  the 
statement  will  be  made  clearer. 

10.  '  *  The  ore  carries  $150  per  ton  in  values. ' '    This  is 
clumsy.    "The  ore  assays  $150  per  ton"  conveys  all  that 
is  meant,  for  assays  are  not  usually  made  for  metals  hav- 
ing no  commercial  value. 

In  many  cases  ' '  the  values  in  an  ore ' '  is  used  to  express 
the  profitable  portion  of  it.  Thus,  someone  "extracts  the 
values  by  the  cyanide  process."  Again,  it  stands  for  the 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  49 

relative  richness  or  grade ;  thus :  ' '  The  values  fell  off  soon 
after  the  mill  was  built,"  meaning  that  the  grade  or  tenor 
of  the  ore  declined.  The  sentence  as  given  is  often  a 
pathetic  fact  as  well  as  sad  grammar. 

"The  values  are  in  the  galena,"  meaning  that  the  gold 
or  silver  is  closely  associated  with  the  galena,  that  is,  to 
put  it  plainly,  "the  gold  is  with  the  galena."  By  drop- 
ping this  misuse  of  value  and  values  we  shall  clarify  tech- 
nical writing. 

Much  the  same  line  of  criticism  can  be  followed  in 
regard  to  the  use  of  the  term  strike,  as : 

"The  Cresson  property  reports  a  strike  of  high  grade 
value  from  which  shipments  will  be  made."  This  is  full 
of  colloquialisms.  The  property  does  not  report  anything, 
this  is  done  by  the  superintendent  or  some  other  man  in  a 
position  to  know.  Property  is  a  pretentious  synonym  for 
mine.  Strike  is  used  in  mining  to  indicate  a  discovery, 
and  it  is  over-worked,  for  Tlu  Evening  Post  tells  of  ore- 
strikes,  as  if  the  miners  might  strike  an  ichthyosaurus; 
they  would  then  strike  for  higher  wages.  It  is  a  pity  to 
make  strike  do  double  duty,  for  it  tends  to  confusion. 
When  you  hear  that  there  is  "a  strike  at  the  Bullion 
mine,"  you  are  left  in  doubt  whether  the  men  have 
abruptly  cancelled  their  agreement  to  work  or  whether 
the  miners  have  broken  into  a  body  of  rich  ore.  Strike 
may  well  be  reserved  for  the  first  of  these  meanings ;  for 
the  other  service  we  have  many  words  and  phrases,  such 
as  "cut  an  orebody,"  "discovered  orej"  "intersected  a 
vein,"  "broken  into  a  bonanza,"  "found  rich  ore," 
"penetrated  an  ore-shoot,"  and  so  forth.  The  use  of  the 
verb  as  in  "They  struck  ore,"  "He  expects  to  strike  oil," 
is  preferable  to  the  employment  of  the  noun,  as  in  "He 


50  A  GUIDE  TO 

made  a  strike,"  " There  is  news  of  a  rich  strike."  Used 
thus  it  is  a  colloquialism,  and  while  colloquialisms  may 
by  usage  become  legitimatized,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
only  reason  for  employing  them  is  the  fact  that  they  do 
the  duty  no  other  words  can  perform  as  well.  If  a 
colloquialism  can  be  avoided,  it  should  be ;  and  if  the 
colloquial  use  of  a  word  makes  for  confusion  by  reason  of 
other  legitimate  uses,  it  is  well  to  forbear.  Strike  is  the 
compass  course  of  a  line  and  is  so  used  in  mining  geology 
and  surveying;  that  is  its  proper  technical  service.  In 
economics,  it  signifies  the  rupture  of  relations  between  an 
employer  and  his  employees.  These  two  usages  do  not 
conflict;  they  suffice;  let  us  not  overwork  our  terms,  lest 
they  fail  to  carry  our  meaning. 

Returning  to  the  quotation:  It  was  a  "strike  of  high 
grade  value, ' '  meaning  a  '  discovery '  of  rich  ore  or  a  '  find ' 
of  valuable  ore.  High-grade  should  be  hyphenated.  Then 
it  is  said  that  shipments  will  be  made  from  "the  strike 
of  high  grade  value."  This  is  an  arithmetical  exercise, 
for  only  in  mathematics  can  you  transfer  high-grade 
values.  The  whole  sentence,  interpreted  into  plain  Eng- 
lish, means:  "It  is  reported  from  the  Cresson  mine  that 
rich  ore  has  been  found  and  that  shipments  will  be  made 
shortly."  Of  course,  the  shipments  must  be  made  soon; 
if  not,  the  reference  to  shipments  is  unnecessary ;  ore  once 
discovered  is  not  supposed  to  lie  in  the  ground  indefi- 
nitely. So  the  statement  may  well  be  abbreviated  to: 
"It  is  reported  that  rich  ore  has  been  found  in  the  Cres- 
son mine." 

Orebodies  and  lodes  are  often  described  as  permanent, 
meaning  thereby  persistent  or  continuous.  For  example : 

1.     "The  ore  deposit  is  of  a  permanent  character." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  51 

2.  "The  officials  of  the  company  feel  confident  that  it 
is  a  permanent  vein." 

3.  "Gash  veins  are  short-lived,  but  a  true  fissure  vein 
is  usually  permanent." 

The  only  way  to  make  an  orebody  permanent  is  to  leave 
it  in  the  ground ;  the  whole  trend  of  mining  is  to  destroy 
the  permanence  of  aggregations  of  ore,  to  break  them,  to 
remove  them,  and  to  treat  them  so  that  a  part,  as  bullion, 
goes  to  the  mint  or  to  the  manufacturer,  while  the  remain- 
der disappears  into  the  creek  that  receives  the  tailing 
from  the  mill  or  the  slag  from  the  smelter. 


The  lack  of  a  classical  education  leads  many  scientific 
men  into  vulgar  blunders.  For  instance,  in  Science,  the 
official  organ  of  the  cult  in  America,  there  appeared  re- 
cently such  statements  as  that  "the  underlying  strata  was 
a  soft  limestone,"  and  that  "this  phenomena  was  closely 
observed  by  us, ' '  and  that  '  *  we  owe  this  data  to  the  cour- 
tesy of  Mr.  . "  No  wonder  that  Professor  Hilgard 

remarks  that  the  restriction  of  the  scientific  curriculum 
to  the  limited  language-study  of  the  high-schools  is  yield- 
ing unfortunate  results. 

Sainte-Beuve  said  of  Napoleon,  and  Matthew  Arnold 
of  General  Grant,  that  clear-cut  thinking  is  indispensable 
to  the  best  writing. 


52  A  GUIDE  TO 

UNCONSIDERED  TRIFLES. 

Very. — This  unpretentious  little  word  is  worked  to 
death,  like  the  donkeys  of  a  mining  camp,  which  are 
apt  to  be  hidden  under  a  big  load  of  lumber  or  other 
supplies.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  very  can  be  omitted 
without  loss,  because  it  serves  only  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  words. 

Very  pre-supposes  a  comparison.  A  four-story  brick 
building  is  very  large  to  those  who  live  at  Salmon  City, 
Idaho,  and  it  may  there  do  glory  to  the  name  of  a  former 
senator,  but  it  is  as  nothing  to  those  who  live  among  the 
'skyscrapers'  of  New  York.  A  mine  with  a  1000-ft.  shaft 
is  very  deep  to  the  scribe  who  writes  on  the  Weekly  Howl 
in  a  new  camp  in  southern  Nevada,  but  it  is  shallow  com- 
pared with  the  openings  on  the  Comstock  lode.  A  vein 
that  is  ten  feet  across  is  very  wide  as  seen  at  Cripple 
Creek,  but  it  is  a  thin  seam  to  a  man  who  is  working  in 
the  Homestake  mine.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  comparison, 
and  unless  your  reader  knows  your  standard,  the  very 
possesses  no  significance. 

When  a  man  says  that  "the  ore  of  the  Great  Wildcat 
Extended  mine  is  very  rich,"  it  depends  upon  what  his 
ideas  of  rich  ore  happen  to  be.  On  the  Mother  Lode  in 
California  15  dwt.  ore  is  very  rich;  at  Goldfield,  in  Ne- 
vada, such  stuff  is  low-grade.  If  you  do  not  know  the 
writer's  notion  of  richness,  his  very  is  wasted. 

Or  again,  someone  writes:  "The  district  is  very  pros- 
perous, there  being  many  very  rich  mines,  some  of  which 
are  very  deep  and  very  extensive,  so  that  there  is  a  very 
good  hope  of  very  many  years  of  very  successful  develop- 
ment." It  is  a  debauch  of  emphasis,  and  all  of  it  is 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  53 

wasted  unless  you  know  the  writer's  standard  of  pros- 
perity, richness,  depth,  extent,  and  so  forth.  Cut  out 
each  very  and  the  sentence  will  lose  nothing. 

There  is  an  air  of  exaggeration  about  statements  bur- 
dened with  a  frequent  very;  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a 
suggestion  of  moderation  and  assured  knowledge  in  the 
descriptions  that  convey  ideas  of  relation  without  a  re- 
peated lashing  of  that  little  word.  Out  of  ten  verys,  nine 
can  be  dropped  without  affecting  a  statement,  save  to 
strengthen  it. 

Occasionally  the  effort  to  emphasize  defeats  itself,  thus : 

1.  "This  machine  makes  a  very  perfect  separation  of 
the  mineral  from  the  gangue." 

2.  "It  is  very  obvious  that  the  mine  is  well  worth  the 
price  asked." 

In  both  these  cases  the  very  weakens  the  force  of  the 
statement,  instead  of  reinforcing  it,  for  a  perfect  separa- 
tion cannot  be  bettered;  it  is  apparent  that  if  the  writer 
means  anything,  he  means  that  the  separation  is  almost 
perfect.  In  the  second  case,  a  thing  is  obvious  or  it  is 
not;  it  can  neither  be  more  obvious  nor  almost  obvious; 
from  the  unnecessary  emphasis  we  are  led  to  suspect  that 
it  was  not  wholly  obvious  that  "the  mine  was  well  worth 
the  price." 

When  a  nurse  tells  a  fairy  story  to  a  child,  she  will 
use  many  verys,  which  fall  on  the  imagination  of  the 
child  like  a  hailstorm  on  a  flower-bed.  The  excessive 
use  of  very  is  childish ;  it  makes  a  constant  call  for  exag- 
geration. It  becomes  wearisome.  If  the  reader  will 
apply  the  test  to  the  average  writing  of  the  day,  he  will 
find  little  is  lost  by  omitting  very,  and  much,  though  not 
'very  much,'  may  be  gained  thereby. 


54  A  GUIDE  TO 

Other  adjectives  that  are  bullied  in  the  same  way  by 
redundant  adverbs  are  straight,  vertical,  unique. 

"A  very  straight  tunnel  into  the  mountain." 

"The  vein  is  very  vertical." 

' '  A  very  unique  child,  said  I. ' ' 

"A  rather  unique  gathering  of  our  profession." 

A  thing  is  either  unique  or  it  is  not,  there  is  no  degree 
of  uniqueness.  So  also  a  thing  is  vertical  or  it  is  not ;  it 
is  straight  or  it  is  crooked.  Fortunately,  there  are  a  few 
words  the  meaning  of  which  is  unassailable. 

Somewhat  and  Probably. — Anyone  who  hopes  to  write 
well  had  better  begin  by  adjuring  somewhat.  It  will  also 
be  well  for  writers  to  deny  themselves  the  frequent  use 
of  qualifying  adverbs,  such  as  perhaps,  about,  probably, 
and  rather.  As  has  been  said  by  an  authority,  this  "in- 
temperate orgy  of  moderation"  amounts  to  a  disease, 
especially  among  British  writers: 

1.  "A  sampling  plant  was  built  perhaps  five  years 
ago." 

2.  "A  somewhat  important  development  is  announced 
from  El  Oro." 

3.  "The  designs  for  an  installation  of  any  consider- 
able magnitude  should  not  be  approved  until,"  and  so 
forth. 

4.  "The  lode  is  probably  about  ten  feet  wide." 

5.  "The  quartz  is  rather  hard  and  the  walls  are  very 
straight." 

6.  "He  uses  a  solution  of  about  2  per  cent  cyanide, 
which  is  perhaps  sufficiently  strong." 

7.  "The  mine  is  about  two  miles  from  the  town." 

8.  "On  the  whole  it  is  perhaps  the  largest  property  in 
the  district." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  55 

9.  "It  is  rather  rare  to  see  such  a  rich  vein." 
These  examples  will  suffice;  it  is  indeed  an  orgy  of 
moderation.  In  every  case  the  qualifying  adverb  is  a 
mere  frill,  and  can  be  dropped  without  loss  of  meaning. 
It  reminds  one,  of  the  custom  that  once  obtained,  among 
the  managers  for  English  mining  companies,  of  initialing 
a  statement  of  accounts  and  of  adding  "E.  &  0.  E., " 
which  stood  for  "Errors  and  omissions  excepted."  So 
every  statement  is  subject  to  error,  for  is  it  not  human 
to  err?  The  qualifying  adverb  does  not  shift  the  respon- 
sibility, it  only  burdens  the  sentence.  For  instance,  in 
No.  4,  a  man  says  the  lode  is  "about  ten  feet  wide";  we 
know  well  enough  that  the  width  of  a  lode  varies  from 
point  to  point,  and  that  it  may  be  9%  ft.  in  one  place 
and  11%  ft.  in  another,  so  that  the  general  statement 
that  "it  is  10  ft. ' '  expresses  the  fact ;  if  you  are  speaking 
of  a  particular  measurement  at  a  specific  spot  it  is  better 
to  say  10  ft.  3  in.  or  9  ft.  9  in.,  than  to  use  the  qualifying 
about,  It  is  an  unscientific  mode  of  expression;  you 
know  the  width  is  ten  feet  or  you  don 't ;  if  you  do  know 
it,  say  so;  if  you  don't,  say  what  you  do  know.  In  the 
same  way,  in  regard  to  the  distance  of  the  mine  from  the 
town  (quoted  in  No.  7),  to  say  that  it  is  "about  two 
miles"  will  not  absolve  you  from  error  if  it  proves  to  be 
three  miles,  and  as  an  attempt  at  accuracy  it  is  but  a 
pseudomorph,  because  the  distance  will  depend  upon 
which  road  you  take.  Moreover,  in  practical  life,  the 
exact  distance  is  less  important  than  the  condition  of 
the  road;  a  four-mile  haul  over  a  good  road  will  be  less 
expensive  than  a  two-mile  haul  over  a  bad  one.  Be  accu- 
rate ;  don't  merely  affect  it.  A  man  who  says  "the  lode 
is  about  ten  feet  wide"  and  "the  vein  is  rather  hard" 


56  A  GUIDE  TO 

and  ''the  ore  is  probably  free-milling,"  is  likely  to  state 
that  it  contains  two  ounces  of  gold  per  ton  when  on  an 
average  it  carries  only  10  dwt.,  and  to  estimate  his  ore 
reserves  100%  too  high. 

The  Unnecessary  Plural. — A  bad  habit,  which  is  be- 
coming steadily  worse,  is  the  squandering  of  the  plural. 
Writers  speak  of  "the  ores"  of  a  mine  and  "the  rocks" 
in  which  the  lode  occurs,  when  they  have  no  idea  of  a 
variety  or  a  number  of  either  the  one  or  the  other. 
Slimes,  concentrates,  fines,  tailings,  and  sands  are  all 
terms  that  are  used  by  some  people  only  in  their  plural 
form.  It  is  a  Mormonism  of  style.  And  apart  from  its 
incorrectness,  it  causes  the  loss  of  a  useful  inflection.  If 
a  mill  produces  more  than  one  kind  of  'concentrate'  or  a 
mine  several  varieties  of  'ore,'  it  is  possible  to  suggest 
the  fact  by  the  employment  of  the  plural.  Moreover,  the 
excessive  sibilant  is  unpleasant  in  compounding,  as  in 
'slimes-plant,'  'sands-vat,'  'tailings-sump.' 

A  concentrate  is  the  product  of  a  process  of  concentra- 
tion; if  several  such  products  are  formed  (as  happens 
occasionally),  they  are  correctly  known  as  concentrates. 

A  tailing  is  the  refuse  from  a  metallurgical  process;  if 
the  refuse  from  several  processes  or  more  than  one  mill 
should  meet,  the  result  could  be  described  as  tailings. 

Many  writers  appear  to  be  unaware  that  concentrate 
and  tailing  are  dictionary  words,  for  they  use  only  the 
plural  forms. 

Thus:  "The  gravels  rest  upon  the  older  schists  of  the 
region."  But  it  was  of  a  particular  deposit  of  gravel 
that  the  writer  of  this  sentence  was  telling,  and  the  ' '  older 
schists"  stood  for  one  particular  formation  of  schist.  The 
two  unnecessary  plurals  only  befog  the  meaning,  which 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  57 

is  that  "the  gravel  rests  upon  the  older  schist  of  the 
region." 

The  stuff  that  goes  through  a  screen  can  be  divided 
into  'coarse'  and  'fine';  there  is  no  need  to  pluralize 
the  second  into  'fines/  any  more  than  there  is  to  put  the 
first  in  the  uncomfortable  position  of  'coarses. ' 

Occasionally  the  loss  of  the  plural  will  seriously  ham- 
per the  expression  of  an  idea,  thus:  "An  experiment  was 
made  on  two  sands  having  the  following  analysis.  (Then 
came  the  analysis.)  Which  of  these  two  sands  is  the 
finest?"  Incidentally,  "finest"  should  be  'finer.'  Or 
again,  "As  at  El  Oro,  one  can  calculate  exactly  the  ex- 
traction from  a  sand  when  the  sizing  test  has  been  made." 
Now  try  to  express  the  distinctions  made  in  these  sen- 
tences by  the  use  of  the  plural  only.  Surely  it  is  unschol- 
arly,  and  therefore  unscientific  also,  to  throw  away  a 
grammatical  inflection  of  so  elementary  a  nature.  It  will 
be  found  that  loose  writers,  that  is,  those  who  do  not 
think  clearly  and  therefore  are  willing  to  write  muddily, 
will  scatter  their  plurals  in  every  direction ;  in  this  there 
is  a  profuseness  that  is  in  keeping  with  the  exaggerations 
of  irresponsible  journalism.  It  is  another  example  of  the 
choice  of  the  abstract  for  the  concrete,  a  blunder  that 
marks  the  unscholarly  writer. 

Per  cent  should  be  used  only  as  a  term  of  precision 
and  when  accompanied  by  an  exact  statement  of  quan- 
tity. Thus:  "In  treating  this  gravel  an  abundance  of 
water  is  necessary,  otherwise  a  great  per  cent  of  the  gold 
will  be  lost."  Here  it  is  used  in  a  vague  manner,  and 
the  word  part  or  portion  would  be  more  appropriate. 

"But  this  class  forms  only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
young  men  of  this  community."  No  percentage  is  given, 


58  A  GUIDE  TO 

the  statement  is  vague,  and  the  word  proportion  should 
be  substituted  for  percentage. 

Excepting  is  often  used  in  place  of  except,  as:  "Your 
definition  is  correct,  excepting  that  you  do  not  go  far 
enough. ' ' 

Similarly,  partially  is  used  where  partly  is  required. 
* '  The  vat  was  partially  filled. ' '  Partially  means  with  par- 
tiality, and  it  should  never  be  used  without  considering 
the  claims  of  partly.  These  errors,  like  the  use  of  "ex- 
perimentalize ' '  in  place  of  experiment,  of  ' '  preventative ' ' 
for  preventive,  are  evidence  of  an  effort  to  be  impressive 
by  using  long  words. 

"Consistency  is  a  jewel,"  but  consistence  is  a  quality 
belonging  to  molasses  in  a  jug  or  to  the  slime  in  a  cyanide 
vat. 

'Suppositions'  is  a  common  error  for  supposititious. 

Approximate  and  approximately  are  used  too  often  as 
an  elegant  variation  on  about,  as  "He  is  approximately 
90  years  old." 

Series  is  employed  instead  of  number,  even  when  there 
is  no  succession  or  connection  between  the  events  or 
objects  mentioned,  as  "A  series  of  scattered  orebodies  in 
the  limestone." 

There  is  a  tendency  to  use  it  too  much.  Whenever  at 
a  loss  for  either  a  nominative  or  an  objective,  the  scrib- 
bler throws  an  it  into  his  sentence.  Thus:  "By  the 
arrangement  shown  the  centre  of  gravity  will  be  low,  and 
it  leaves  a  compartment  at  one  end."  The  "centre  of 
gravity"  leaves  no  compartment,  the  "arrangement" 
does  so.  We  might  say:  "By  the  arrangement  shown  the 
centre  of  gravity  is  placed  low,  and  a  compartment  is 
left  at  one  end.' 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  59 

A  similar  criticism  may  be  made  in  regard  to  the  exces- 
sive employment  of  them  and  their.  Thus:  "Iron  poles 
are  to  be  avoided  on  account  of  the  danger  to  linemen 
and  their  short  life  due  to  rusting."  The  linemen  are  not 
short-lived;  and,  though  eventually  they  die,  they  do  not 
rust;  it  is  the  iron  of  the  poles  that  oxidizes. 

"The  slime  from  the  mill  is  treated  in  a  second  plant 
and  its  contents  are  cyanided  at  a  small  expense."  From 
this  the  reader  might  infer  that  the  contents  of  the  sec- 
ondary plant  were  subjected  to  cyanidation. 

Referring  to  limestone  rocks,  a  writer  says:  "In  the 
residual  clays  left  by  their  dissolution  the  farmers  fre- 
quently make  low  wages  by  gophering  after  the  liberated 
lead."  The  farmers  did  not  undergo  dissolution,  other- 
wise they  would  not  have  been  able  to  go  for  the  lead. 


60  A  GUIDE  TO 

CONCERNING  TITLES. 

The  title  Mr.  means  nothing.  There  was  a  time  when 
master  or  mister  was  a  specific  title  of  honor.  It  is  so  no 
longer.  Similarly,  squire  denoted  a  shield-man  or  attend- 
ant on  a  knight.  In  England  it  is  the  custom  to  address 
a  letter  to  your  grocer  as  Mr.  Henry  Smith,  but  to  address 
a  letter  to  your  friend  as  Henry  Smith  Esq.  In  America 
Esq.  is  used  by  a  few  people  at  Boston,  but  elswhere  it  is 
rare.  Squire  and  Esq.  are  verbal  derelicts  of  the  feudal 
system  and  they  possess  historic  interest,  but  they  have 
nearly  passed  out  of  use.  In  America  it  is  as  correct  to 
write  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  (in  his  private  capacity*)  as  plain 
Mr.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  as  it  is  to  write  Mr.  Henry  Smith 
when  you  send  your  grocer  his  check  in  payment  of  the 
month's  account.  In  England  they  still  distinguish  be- 
tween amateurs  and  professionals  by  prefixing  Mr.  to  the 
first  and  omitting  it  before  the  names  of  the  second,  so 
that  you  read  of  a  cricket  match  in  which  Mr.  Henry 
O'Brien  bowled  Jones.  The  latter  did  not  lose  his  pro- 
nomen  nor  his  title  of  Mr.  because  he  was  bowled  but 
because  he  was  a  professional,  the  bowler  (Mr.  O'Brien) 
being  an  amateur.  In  cricket  the  adoption  of  this  style 
has  its  convenience  but,  nevertheless,  it  is  a  humorous 
survival  of  a  class  distinction.  In  America  the  class  dis- 
tinction is  gone,  and  so  is  that  between  the  amateur  and 
the  professional;  here  amateurs  are  scarce,  for  we  make 
a  business  out  of  sport ;  also  we  have  no  class  distinctions, 
only  differences  of  bank  balances. 

*In  writing  to  the  President  officially,  it  is  correct  to  address  the 
envelope  "To  The  President.  The  White  House.  Washington,  D.  C.," 
and  to  begin  the  communication  thus:  "The  President:  Sir — ." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  61 

Therefore  Mr.  is  meaningless  and  in  technical  writing 
it  can  be  largely  omitted.  As  a  matter  of  taste  it  is  pref- 
erable, and  as  a  matter  of  accuracy  it  is  better,  to  use 
the  initials  or  the  first  name.  Thus:  "The  engineer  in 
charge  of  construction  is  C.  E.  Palmer"  is  better  than 
writing  that  he  was  Mr.  Palmer.  At  the  second  reference, 
it  is  usual  to  omit  the  initials  and  to  say  Mr.  Palmer, 
as  in  ordinary  conversation. 

Never  prefix  Mr.  or  any  other  title  to  the  names  of  the 
dead,  that  is  the  worst  snobbery  of  all.  Thus:  "In  the 
death  of  Kelvin,  England  lost  a  great  investigator."  "By 
the  death  of  Charles  A.  Molson,  the  mining  profession  lost 
one  of  its  leading  members."  To  put  Lord  before  the 
immortal  dead  is  bathos  and  to  place  Mr.  before  the  name 
of  a  vanished  personality  is  like  bowing  to  a  mummy. 

Then  we  come  to  the  use  of  such  titles  as  Professor  and 
Doctor,  with  their  abbreviations  Prof,  and  Dr.  In  Eng- 
land only  a  physician  is  addressed  as  Doctor.  Surgeons, 
veterinaries,  and  dentists  are  denied  the  privilege.  So 
far  so  funny,  but  the  custom  mentioned  has  not  prevented 
doctors  of  divinity  and  doctors  of  science  from  taking  to 
themselves  the  title  usually  associated  with  the  healing 
art.  In  America,  it  is  chaos ;  the  titles  Professor  and  Doc- 
tor are  employed  so  loosely  that  they  are  well-nigh  mean- 
ingless. For  my  part  I  cannot  see  why  a  Master  of  Arts 
should  not  be  addressed  as  Master  if  a  Doctor  of  Philo- 
sophy is  entitled  to  be  called  Doctor.  Moreover,  in  the 
West,  an  Attorney  General  is  usually  called  General  and 
a  Surveyor  General  is  easily  mistaken  for  a  military  chief- 
tain of  the  highest  rank.  They  are  as  much  generals  as 
the  general  dealer  in  merchandise  or  the  man  who  has 
general  supervision  of  street  construction.  In  Kentucky 


62  A  GUIDE  TO 

v 

every  gentleman  is  a  colonel,  at  Washington  every  scien- 
tist is  a  doctor;  in  fact,  my  friends  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  will,  I  trust,  not  be  offended  if  I  say 
that  it  is  apparent,  from  official  sources  of  news,  that  the 
chiefs  are  Doctors,  the  seconds  in  command  are  Profess- 
ors, and  the  chain-bearers  are  plain  Misters.  One  of  the 
worst  sinners  in  this  regard  is  Science,  the  organ  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 
The  editor  of  that  weekly  magazine  bestows  his  accolade 
with  rare  impartiality  and  gives  degrees  with  unrestrained 
generosity.  Lately,  the  list  of  contents  gave  the  names  of 
a  Professor  who  was  not — and  never  had  been — a  pro- 
fessor ;  of  a  Doctor,  who  was  an  M.A.  and  not  a  Ph.D. ;  of 
a  Mr.  who  had  won  a  Ph.D.  from  Columbia.  The  grada- 
tion of  title  merely  expressed  the  editor's  sense  of  the 
degree  of  courtesy  it  was  proper  to  pay  the  several  writ- 
ers. Of  course,  such  misuse  of  title  is  grotesque.  We  love 
to  call  some  of  the  veterans  'Doctor,'  for  they  got  their 
Ph.D.  at  a  time  and  at  a  place  where  the  honor  meant 
something;  nowadays  every  little  college  grants  doc- 
torates, so  that  they  have  no  significance  unless  the  name 
of  the  grantor  university  is  affixed.  I  remember  a  friend 
of  mine  in  Colorado  who  was  given  an  honorary  Ph.D.  by 
the  State  University  because  he  was  the  promoter  of  a 
paper  mill  and  other  useful  local  enterprises,  and  my 
friend  valued  the  honor  chiefly  because  it  made  him  eli- 
gible for  the  University  Club  at  Denver.  Furthermore,  a 
doctorate  does  not  indicate  even  the  same  degree,  for  Dr. 
Edward  D.  Peters  and  Dr.  F.  L.  Bosqui  are  graduated 
physicians,  although  both  have  become  authorities  in 
metallurgy;  they  are  not  doctors  of  philosophy,  as  might 
be  inferred.  As  to  professor,  that  title  belongs  first  to 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  63 

the  peripatetic  corn-doctor  and  next  to  the  instructor  in 
dancing.  At  Harvard  the  professors  are  addressed  as 
Mr.,  and  the  unnecessary  use  of  Professor  in  addressing 
lecturers  is  deemed  provincial. 

In  a  democracy  there  is  no  rank  outside  of  the  army 
and  the  navy,  and  among  civilians  good  taste  dictates  the 
minimum  use  of  titles.  The  true  American  has  no  supe- 
rior, and  no  inferior.  In  Europe  titles  express  positions, 
class  distinctions,  and  social  courtesies,  and  they  form  a 
part  of  the  old-world  customs;  they  have  historic  war- 
rant. In  America,  they  are  solecisms.  Therefore  avoid 
the  use  of  the  prefixes  Dr.  and  Prof.  Say :  Mr.  C.  R.  Van 
Hise  and  not  Dr.  Van  Hise;  Mr.  S.  F.  Emmons  and  not 
Prof.  Emmons. 

The  following  are  examples  of  correct  usage : 

"Mr.  James  F.  Kemp,  professor  of  geology  in  Columbia 
University. ' ' 

"He  graduated  from  Cornell  University." 

"In  deference  to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  S.  B.  Christy,  the 
dean  of  the  mining  department  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. ' ' 

If  it  is  desirable  to  state  the  fact  that  a  scientific  writer 
has  had  a  doctorate  conferred  upon  him  or  has  held  a 
professorship,  then  say  it  thus:  "Richard  Pearce,  Ph.D., 
Columbia. "  "  Courtenay  De  Kalb  was  formerly  professor 
of  metallurgy  in  the  School  of  Mines  of  Missouri. ' ' 

When  you  refer  to  persons  bearing  foreign  titles,  be 
careful  to  be  correct,  for  to  a  foreigner  they  mean  much 
and  to  be  careless  is  either  to  be  discourteous  or  to  confess 
your  ignorance.  Thus,  in  speaking  of  an  English  knight 
or  baronet,  you  speak  of  him  as  Sir  John  Smith,  and  at 
the  subsequent  reference  you  speak  of  him  as  Sir  John. 


64  A  GUIDE  TO 

In  England  the  prefix  'Honourable'  indicates  that  the 
bearer  of  it  is  the  son  of  a  peer,  while  'Right  Hon- 
ourable' signifies  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  Privy 
Council.  These  quaint  old  customs  have  historic  war- 
rant and  mean  something  in  a  country  of  anachron- 
isms, however  curious  they  may  seem  to  an  American.  In 
a  democracy  we  have  no  titles  save  those  of  the  army  and 
the  navy,  because  only  in  the  naval  and  military  services 
is  precedence  recognized.  The  Kentucky  Colonel  will 
forfeit  his  title  promptly  when  his  purse  is  inadequate  to 
the  tips  demanded  by  his  honorary  rank.  The  Attorney 
General  of  California,  who  is  hailed  as  General,  has  no 
more  precedence  than  the  general  grocer,  to  whose  class 
etymologically  he  belongs. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  65 

MATTERS  OF  USAGE. 

The  split  infinitive  is  not  always  avoidable ;  occasionally 
it  serves  to  convey  a  special  meaning.  Avoid  it  if  you  can. 

The  omission  of  the  definite  article  (the)  before  foreign 
names  commencing  with  the  definite  article  (Le,  La,  II) 
recommends  itself  on  the  score  of  repetition,  but  it  is 
likely  to  cause  confusion.  The  French  or  Spanish  article 
joined  to  another  word  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  name  as 
the  noun  itself,  thus:  "We  have  something  interesting 
to  show  you  in  the  Mexico  mine  and  also  in  the  El  Oro" 
is  clear,  but  the  omission  of  the  article  before  El  Oro 
would  suggest  that  there  was  "something  interesting"  in 
the  district  of  El  Oro,  in  which  the  El  Oro  mine  is  sit- 
uated. Even  in  Spanish,  one  would  say  "el  distrito  de  El 
Oro"  or  "la  mina  El  Oro,"  not  lila  mina  Oro"  or  "el  dis- 
trito de  Oro."  So  also  we  speak  of  "the  La  Rose  mine" 
at  Cobalt  and  "the  Le  Roi  mine"  at  Rossland,  and  even 
"the  Las  Dos  Estrellas  mine"  at  El  Oro. 

Preposition  Verbs. — The  use  of  prepositions  with  verbs, 
and  the  consequent  ending  of  a  sentence  with  an  insig- 
nificant word,  is  a  defect  peculiarly  British,  although  not 
unknown  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  For  example: 

1.  "The  finest  mine  I  met  with  in  my  travels." 

2.  "No  large  body  of  payable  ore  has  been  met  with." 

3.  "At  that  time  it  was  intended  to  sink  a  shaft  along 
the  drive  at  a  place  where  the  new  make  of  stone  had 
come  in." 

4.  "The  shares  are  being  dealt  in  at  a  large  premium." 

5.  "A  road  has  been  reported  on  as  practicable," 

6.  "All  but  200  tons  was  operated  on  in  Pahang." 


66  A  GUIDE  TO 

7.  "The  slime  separated  makes  up  a  capacity  of  500 
tons  per  day." 

8.  "This  is  true  in  dividing  up  geological  time." 

9.  "The  influence  of  the  old  views  has  so  clung  on 
that  the  tendency  has  been  to  give  up  the  idea  of  time." 

10.  "The  vein  has  been  cut,  and  new  men  will  be  put 
on  to  drift  on  it." 

11.  "The  vein  is  split  up  into  stringers." 

12.  "The  disturbance  tilted  up  the  strata." 

13.  "End  bearers  12  by  12  in.  let  in  16  in.  into  each 
wall." 

14.  "The  ore  is  fed  in  at  the  curved  end." 

15.  "The  weak  solution  is  turned  on  at  first." 
Many  other  examples  might  be  quoted  of  the  use  of 

let  in,  stop  up,  come  in,  carry  on,  make  up,  fold  in,  split 
up,  open  up,  fill  up,  pour  in,  empty  out,  start  up,  close 
down,  cave  in,  and  so  forth. 

It  will  be  noted  that  usually  the  preposition  forming 
part  of  the  verb  is  followed  immediately  by  another  prepo- 
sition ;  this  is  ugly.  Moreover,  while  in  speaking,  the  verb 
and  its  preposition  may  be  held  together  so  as  to  effect  a 
separation  from  the  following  preposition,  in  writing  this 
is  not  indicated.  We  do  not  write  :  *  *  The  finest  mine  I  met- 
with  in  my  travels,"  but  we  space  the  words  equally,  so 
that  it  might  be  read :  ' '  The  finest  mine  I  met  with-in  my 
travels. ' '  In  German  such  verbs  are  frankly  compounded, 
and  if  they  are  to  be  used  in  English  it  might  be  well  to 
hyphenate  them,  but  it  would  be  better  still  to  avoid  the 
use  of  them  altogether. 

It  was  "the  finest  mine  he  saw"  that  he  meant;  he  did 
not  meet  the  mine,  nor  did  the  mine  come  forth  to  meet 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  67 

him.  Similarly,  in  the  second  example  *  intersected '  or 
'found'  would  serve. 

The  third  quotation  is  obviously  Australian,  for  'make 
of  stone'  betrays  its  origin,  even  if  'drive'  (meaning 
'drift')  did  not  do  so.  In  this  case  the  new  orebody  had 
been  'cut'  or  'exposed.' 

The  fourth  is  often  to  be  read  in  financial  papers;  it 
can  be  circumvented  by  saying:  "There  were  dealings  in 
the  shares  at  a  large  premium." 

So  also  the  fifth  and  sixth  are  common;  we  read  that 
a  mine  has  been  reported  on,  etc.  Why  not  say:  "A  re- 
port on  the  mine  has  been  made." 

In  the  seventh  makes  up  should  be  'constitutes'  or 
'  forms. ' 

In  the  eighth,  the  preposition  can  be  dropped,  while  in 
the  next  quotation  both  prepositions  have  some  value  and 
it  is  rash  to  suggest  an  improvement.  We  might  say  that 
"The  influence  of  the  old  views  has  clung  to  geology  so 
that  the  tendency  is  to  abandon  the  idea  of  time. ' ' 

In  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  the  prepositions  are 
redundant.  In  the  thirteenth  the  confusion  between  the 
preposition  in  and  the  abbreviated  form  of  'inches,'  is 
awkward.  'Projecting'  into  the  wall  or  'inserted'  into 
it  might  express  the  meaning. 

As  to  the  fourteenth,  evidently  the  ore  is  not  fed  out; 
the  in  is  not  needed.  This  is  like  upraise,  which  is  found 
in  some  mine  reports,  as  though  anyone  raised  downward. 
In  the  fifteenth  example  turned  on  must  be  left  as  it  is, 
with  the  ugly  second  preposition  following  it,  or  another 
phrase  must  be  used.  Turn  on  and  turn  off,  as  meaning 
to  start  or  stop  the  flow  (as  in  this  case,  of  a  solution), 
are  required  in  technical  writing  because  we  have  no 


68  A  GUIDE  TO 

equivalent  that  will  do  duty  for  them.  It  is  not  intended 
to  state  that  all  these  preposition-verbs  can  be  dispensed 
with,  but  it  is  suggested  that  certain  ungainly  sentences 
can  be  modified  to  advantage  by  avoiding  the  use  of 
them. 

"The  visiting  engineer  should  be  put  up  by  the  owner 
of  the  mine  on  the  property."  An  Anglicism;  a  man  is 
'put  up?  when  he  is  entertained,  and  if  the  hospitality  is 
inadequate  he  must  put  up  with  it  as  best  he  can. 

"Upon  the  melting  down  of  the  charge."  How  does 
this  differ  from  the  melting  up?  Many  metallurgists  prefer 
the  latter,  although  the  first  suggests  the  subsidence  that 
follows  liquefaction  of  fragments.  Neither  preposition 
is  necessary. 

A  mill  is  started  up  and  then  is  closed  down.  In  these 
cases  the  preposition  gives  added  force  and  is  excusable, 
though  unnecessary  and  ugly.  On  the  Rand  the  white 
men  'boss  up'  the  coolies.  We  learn  that  "with  the  large 
machines  almost  half  of  the  time  was  taken  up  in  putting 
up  and  taking  down."  It  reads  like  an  obstacle  race. 

"The  velocity  of  the  escaping  gases  is  too  great  to  per- 
mit of  the  settling  out  of  the  finest  particles."  If  the 
particles  settle,  they  settle;  that  is  enough.  Of  course, 
there  are  people  who  settle  down  in  the  country  because 
they  cannot  settle  up  their  debts  in  the  city,  but  that  is 
neither  here  nor  there. 

It  is  worth  remarking  that  so  clever  a  book  as  'The 
King's  English,'  which  offers  an  effective  criticism  of  rep- 
resentative English  writers,  is  guilty  of  the  following 
sentences:  "It  is  insulting  to  the  reader,  implying  that 
he  was  not  worth  working  out  the  sentence  for  before  it 
was  put  down."  After  such  a  performance  we  venture 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  69 

to  express  opposition  to  their  approval  of  the  termina- 
tion of  a  sentence  with  an  unimportant  word,  as  will  hap- 
pen often  when  these  preposition-verbs  are  employed. 

A  Western  miner,  who  has  overslept,  will  say  that  he 
has  '  slept  in, '  and  after  he  has  been  to  the  boarding-house 
he  will  state  that  he  is  'full  up.'  A  little  later  he  will  'hide 
out'  from  the  foreman  by  'climbing  up'  into  an  'upraise.' 
Why  should  we  perpetuate  the  lingo  of  the  illiterate? 
The  miner  has  much  to  teach  us,  especially  how  to  find  ore 
and  how  best  to  extract  it,  but  the  selection  of  terms  or 
the  use  of  language  is  not  his  province,  and  he  does  not 
thank  you  for  putting  him  in  a  false  position. 

In  speaking  or  writing  concerning  technical  matters, 
it  will  be  found  that  there  is  an  insistent  multitude  of 
preposition-verbs.  If  note  is  taken  of  their  clumsiness 
and  of  the  awkward  sentences  produced  by  the  use  of 
them,  it  is  likely  that  they  will  be  avoided.  It  is  easy  to 
do  so.  Try  a  re-arrangement  of  the  sentence  or  a  substi- 
tution of  terms.  It  is  good  practice. 

Most  preposition  verbs  can  be  replaced  advantageously 
by  plain  verbs ;  for  example : 

carry  out  perform 

look  after  watch 

fall  off  decline 

prove  up  test 

keep  up  maintain 

make  up  compose 

aim  at  attain 

go  on  advance 

work  out  develop 

Tautology. — "The  shaft  is  being  sunk  deeper."  A  shaft 
must  be  sunk  deeper,  if  it  is  sunk  at  all. 


70  A  GUIDE  TO 

"The  men  on  that  shift  drove  the  drift  forward  four 
feet."  They  would  not  be  likely  to  drive  it  backward  or 
even  laterally,  for  then  it  would  become  a  cross-cut. 

"It  is  radically  wrong  in  its  inception  from  the  start." 
Words,  mere  words.  Those  that  are  indicated  are  not 
needed. 

"The  manager  began  cross-cutting  at  shallow  depths." 
If  shallow,  then  not  deep.  Why  not  say  where  the  mana- 
ger did  the  cross-cutting?  On  which  level?  How  far 
from  the  surface? 

Payable  means  due  as  to  payment  or  capable  of  being 
discharged  by  payment.  It  is  used  in  mining  as  a  syno- 
nym for  profitable.  The  ore  does  not  pay  nor  is  it  able 
to  pay  what  is  unpaid  and  due ;  the  use  of  the  word  is  to 
be  condemned,  for  it  was  introduced  by  illiterate  persons 
and  is  a  blunder.  We  do  not  need  payable ;  use  profitable. 
Pay-ore  is  now  a  recognized  technical  term  and  is  out  of 
the  reach  of  a  protest. 

It  is  better  to  say  20  ft.  wide  than  20  ft.  in  width. 
Similarly,  10  ft.  long  is  preferable  to  10  ft.  in  length.  Ex- 
cept when  not  preceded  by  a  number,  as:  "The  orebody 
has  increased  in  length  as  the  mine  has  been  deepened." 
Or :  "  This  vat  differs  in  breadth  from  the  other. ' ' 

The  latter  is  employed  in  a  confusing  way;  sometimes 
it  is  used  where  last  is  required.  Thus :  "I  am  using  18% 
coke  on  the  charge  and  I  may  get  to  17  or  even  16%.  The 
latter  figure  I  hope  to  reach."  Here  there  are  three  per- 
centages ;  he  means  the  last  of  them. 

"Of  these  three  main  ore  deposits,  the  Winthrop,  the 
Rising  Star  and  the  Bully  Hill,  only  the  latter  is  associ- 
ated with  the  diabase."  A  comma  is  needed  after  Star; 
and  latter,  referring  to  the  last  of  three,  should  be  last. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  71 

''The  gangue  minerals  consist  of  calcite,  quartz,  dolo- 
mite, gypsum,  and  calamine,  native  silver  occurring  in 
vugs  of  the  latter. ' '  Occur  is  overdone  by  many  writers. 
Latter  should  be  last.  As  gangue  consists  of  minerals, 
necessarily,  the  use  of  'minerals'  is  undesirable. 

The  Indefinite  Pronoun. — As  a  rule,  educated  English- 
men use  their  own  language  skillfully,  because  they  re- 
ceive instruction  in  grammar  while  at  school,  and  they  are 
not  in  a  hurry.  Nevertheless,  they  have  two  peculiar 
faults.  One  of  these  is  the  use  of  preposition-verbs,  as 
already  mentioned;  the  other  is  the  frequent  employment 
of  the  indefinite  pronoun  one,  as  in : 

"One  would  not  be  inclined  to  believe  such  a  state- 
ment." 

In  some  instances  it  becomes  almost  an  obsession,  as  in 
the  case  of  a  man  with  whom  I  discussed  the  future  of  the 
Royal  School  of  Mines.  He  said  something  like  this: 
" Looking  at  the  subject  broadly,  one  would  suppose  that 
the  Government  would  give  better  support  to  the  plan, 
for  one  can  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  do  so ;  and 
certainly  one  has  a  right  to  expect  something  in  behalf 
of  so  important  an  institution;  but  in  matters  like  these 
one  almost  despairs  of  one's  countrymen."  It  is  a  sort 
of  mock-modesty,  an  exaggerated  effort  to  avoid  egotism 
and  self-assertion.  It  may  be  that  those  of  us  who  live 
in  America  are  a  bit  too  assertive,  but  at  least  we  know 
our  own  minds  and  are  willing  to  accept  the  responsibility 
for  the  statements  we  make,  instead  of  fathering  them 
upon  a  shadowy  something  that  masquerades  in  the  garb 
of  a  shamefaced  pronoun.  Examples  of  this  peculiarly 
British  habit  are  easy  to  obtain;  here  is  one  from  a  book 
(and  a  good  book  too)  by  H.  G.  Wells;  speaking  of  the 


72  A  GUIDE  TO 

dispersal  of  population  by  reason  of  improved  locomo- 
tion, he  says: 

1  'The  towns  one  inferred,  therefore,  would  get  slacker, 
more  diffused,  the  country-side  more  urban.  From  that, 
from  the  spatial  widening  of  personal  interests  that  ensued, 
one  could  infer  certain  changes  in  the  spirits  of  local  poli- 
tics, so  one  went  on  to  a  number  of  fairly  valid  adumbra- 
tions. Then  again  starting  from  the  practical  supercession 
of  all  unskilled  labor  by  machinery  one  can  work  out  with 
a  pretty  fair  certainty  many  coming  social  developments, 
and  the  broad  trend  of  one  group  of  influences  at  least." 
And  so  he  proceeds.  Now,  it  happens  that  he  is  referring 
to  his  own  opinions  as  expressed  in  a  book  previously 
published,  and  it  is  no  indefinite  person  or  public  opinion 
or  a  debating  society,  but  H.  G.  Wells,  that  is  supposing 
and  suggesting  these  interesting  things.  Put  the  first 
pronoun  singular,  the  aggressive  I,  in  the  place  of  one 
and  the  whole  statement  gains  vigor  and  an  additional 
meaning,  for  these  are  liis  ideas,  the  ideas  of  a  particular 
social  philosopher  and  not  of  a  chimera  ruminating  in  a 
vacuum. 

In  the  quotation  from  Wells,  it  will  be  noted  that  the 
numeral  one  occurs  in  the  same  sentence  as  the  pronoun 
one;  this  is  awkward.  So  also  is  the  uncertainty  as  to 
whether  one  should  be  followed  by  a  singular  or  plural 
pronoun.  For  instance: 

"People  here  know  that  this  kind  of  speculation  gives 
one  a  run  for  their  money."  Their  should  be  one's,  but 
even  that  is  awkward.  Get  rid  of  the  one. 

Of  course,  egotism  is  to  be  deprecated  and  the  iteration 
of  the  first  person  singular  is  tiresome,  but  in  technical 
writing,  where  definite  statements  are  made  by  a  specific 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  73 

observer  and  personal  investigations  are  recorded  by  indi- 
viduals, it  is  a  mere  pretence  of  modesty  to  use  these  ele- 
gant variations.  It  detracts  from  the  vividness  of  a  state- 
ment without  lessening  the  responsibility  for  it,  and  often 
it  results  in  awkward  circumlocution.  The  use  of  writer 
is  also  open  to  objections  that  far  outweigh  any  consid- 
erations of  taste  or  modesty ;  it  may  be  properly  regarded 
as  an  affectation  that  interferes  with  clearness  of  expres- 
sion. 

''The  geology  of  the  district  is  more  complex  than  it 
has  been  described  by  Mr.  Turner.  The  writer  has  dis- 
cussed the  subject  in  a  bulletin,  etc/'  Here  the  writer 
appears  to  refer  to  Mr.  Turner,  but  it  stands  for  his  critic, 
the  author  of  the  above  paragraph.  By  changing  the  last 
sentence  to  "I  have  discussed  the  subject,  etc,"  the  mean- 
ing is  made  clear.  Sacrifice  elegance,  even  modesty,  to 
directness  of  statement.  Remember  the  reader. 


74  A  GUIDE  TO 

RELATIVE  PRONOUNS. 

Most  writers  employ  that  as  an  agreeable  variation 
from  the  too  frequent  use  of  who  and  which ;  they  regard 
that  as  interchangeable  with  the  two  other  relative  pro- 
nouns and  make  euphony  the  sole  arbiter  of  their  choice. 
However,  among  the  helps  to  clear  expression  I  include 
the  proper  use  of  these  three  relative  pronouns.  The  neg- 
lect to  distinguish  between  the  functions  peculiar  to  them 
severally  is  an  error  common  to  technical,  as  to  ordinary, 
literature. 

A  relative  clause  is  introduced  by  a  relative  pronoun; 
it  has  a  subject  and  predicate  of  its  own,  and  refers  to, 
describes,  or  limits  a  previous  word.  The  word  or  group 
of  words  to  which  a  relative  pronoun  refers  is  called  its 
'antecedent';  as  in  the  sentence  "He  in  whom  we  trust," 
where  "He"  is  the  antecedent  described  by  the  clause 
"in  whom  we  trust." 

The  relative  pronouns  serve  as  reference-words  and 
connectives.  Who,  with  its  possessive  whose  and  its 
objective  whom,  is  both  singular  arid  plural.  It  refers 
to  living  things,  usually  persons,  sometimes  animals.  By 
poetic  license  inanimate  objects  may  be  personified,  so 
that  we  may  speak  of  "the  city  whose  future  is  assured." 
But  it  is  not  well  to  say:  "The  stamp  whose  descent  on 
the  die  crushes  the  ore."  It  will  be  more  correct  to  sub- 
stitute of  which  and  say  "The  stamp,  the  descent  of 
which  on  the  die,  etc."  This  is  correct;  but  it  is  awk- 
ward, which  is  a  hint  to  reconstruct  the  sentence  and  omit 
the  relative  pronoun,  thus:  "The  stamp,  by  descending 
upon  the  die,  crushes  the  ore  upon  it"  or  "The  stamp  falls 
upon  the  die  so  as  to  crush  the  ore." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  75 

When  in  doubt,  rebuild  your  sentence. 

What  always  refers  to  things,  never  to  persons.  The 
antecedent  to  what  is  not  expressed.  Thus :  ' '  What 
will  happen,  no  man  can  foretell." 

Which  is  not  inflected.  It  refers,  with  rare  exceptions, 
to  things  only.  That  also  is  not  inflected,  it  refers  either 
to  persons  or  things. 

The  main  problem  is  the  distinction  between  that  on 
the  one  hand  and  who  or  which  on  the  other.  Gramma- 
rians and  writers  differ  as  regards  the  restrictive  func- 
tion of  these  relative  pronouns.  Thus:  "The  friends  that 
I  loved  are  dead"  seems  better  than  "The  friends  whom  I 
loved,"  for  it  is  the  beloved  friends  as  distinguished  from 
ordinary  friends  that  are  dead.  You  say  "The  father 
whom  I  loved  is  dead,"  rather  than  "The  father  that  I 
loved, ' '  because  a  man  has  only  one  father  and  the  use  of 
the  term  is  sufficiently  restrictive. 

A  useful  rule  for  the  use  of  that  and  which  is  given  by 
Professor  Bain  and  quoted  by  Edwin  A.  Abbott  in  his 
invaluable  guidebook  called  'How  to  Write  Clearly.'  It 
is:  "When  using  the  relative  pronoun,  use  who  and  which 
where  the  meaning  is  'and  he,'  'and  it,'  etc.,  'for  he,' 
'for  it,'  etc.  In  other  cases  use  that,  if  euphony  allows." 

Thus:  "I  heard  this  from  the  mine  manager,  who  (and 
he)  heard  it  from  the  man  that  was  in  charge  of  the 
work." 

Abbott  also  says:  "Who  and  which  introduce  a  new 
fact  about  the  antecedent,  whereas  that  introduces  some- 
thing without  which  the  antecedent  is  incomplete  or  unde- 
fined. Thus, 'in  the  above  example,  "mine  manager"  is 
complete  in  itself,  and  who  introduces  a  new  fact  about 


76  A  GUIDE  TO 

him;  "man"  is  incomplete,  and  requires  "that  was  in 
charge  of  the  work"  to  complete  the  meaning. 

Let  us  go  into  the  matter  a  little  deeper;  but  before 
venturing  upon  controversial  ground,  I  shall  state  one 
safe  guide  to  lucid  diction,  namely,  whenever  a  sentence 
appears  doubtful  in  the  light  of  a  rule,  it  is  likely  that  the 
sentence  (not  the  rule)  needs  changing.  Grammar  was 
made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  grammar. 

Relative  clauses  are  divisible  into  denning  and  non- 
defining;  the  function  of  the  first  is  to  limit  the  antece- 
dent, this  limitation  being  effected  in  several  ways.  In 
whichever  way  the  defining  clause  does  its  work,  it  is 
essential  to,  and  inseparable  from,  the  antecedent.  By 
this  test  it  can  be  distinguished.  Thus:  "The  process 
which  will  extract  both  the  metals  is  likely  to  be 
adopted."  In  this  case  "will  extract  both  the  metals"  is 
the  relative  clause  introduced  by  which.  The  antecedent 
is  "the  process."  The  clause  limits  the  kind  of  process 
referred  to,  by  stating  that  it  "will  extract  both  the  met- 
als"; therefore,  it  is  a  defining  clause  and  should  be  pre- 
ceded by  that.  The  sentence  is  better  thus :  * '  The  process 
that  will  extract  both  the  metals  is  likely  to  be  adopted." 

"The  process,  which  is  of  recent  invention,  extracts 
both  the  gold  and  silver  at  a  cost  of  50  cents  per  ton  of 
ore."  Here  the  relative  clause  ("which  is  of  recent  inven- 
tion"), introduced  by  the  pronoun  which,  is  non-defining; 
it  merely  gives  a  bit  of  incidental  information,  leaving  it 
to  the  principal  clause  to  predicate  concerning  the  ante- 
cedent ("the  process")  that  it  "extracts  both  the  gold 
and  silver  at  a  cost  of  50  cents  per  ton  of  ore." 

Exceptions  will  occur.  That  does  not  permit  direct 
modification  by  a  preposition.  We  cannot  say  "The  man 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  77 

in  that  we  trusted,"  although  colloquially  we  may  say 
"The  man  that  we  trusted  in" — an  awkward  clause,  end- 
ing with  a  preposition.  To  'trust'  a  man  and  to  'put  your 
trust  in'  a  man  express  two  shades  of  meaning,  of  which 
the  second  is  much  the  stronger.  Finally,  to  serve  the 
purpose,  we  say  "The  man  in  whom  we  trusted."  More- 
over, that  is  not  available  for  all  restrictive  clauses, 
for  it  may  make  confusion  with  the  conjunction  that. 
Thus :  "  It  was  clear  that  that  man  could  be  of  no  service 
to  me"  or  "We  noted  that  the  people  that  composed  the 
mob  were  beside  themselves."  In  both  examples  an  un- 
pleasant collision  between  the  conjunction  and  the  pro- 
noun can  readily  be  avoided  by  reconstructing  the  sen- 
tences. In  the  first,  the  two  thats,  if  spoken,  are  differ- 
ently accentuated,  but  the  distinction  is  lost  in  the  written 
words. 

That  when  used  of  persons,  has  come  to  look  archaic 
and  who  is  preferable,  except  when  the  antecedent  has 
attached  to  it  a  superlative.  We  say : 

"He  is  a  man  who  dreams  all  day." 

But  we  may  say : 

"The  most  impartial  man  that  I  know." 

Let  us  proceed.  The  removal  of  the  defining  clause 
destroys  the  meaning  of  the  antecedent.  This  is  a  sure 
test  for  distinguishing  the  defining  from  the  non-defining 
clause.  Thus,  in  the  sentence:  "The  process  that  will 
extract  both  the  metals,  is  likely  to  be  adopted,"  if  the 
clause  "that  will  extract  both  the  metals"  be  omitted, 
the  sentence  becomes  meaningless,  for  to  say  that  "the 
process  is  likely  to  be  adopted"  without  indicating  in 
any  way  the  particular  process,  would  be  senseless.  In 
the  other  example:  "The  process,  which  is  of  recent  in- 


78  A  GUIDE  TO 

vention,  extracts  both  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  ore  at 
a  cost  of  50  cents  per  ton,"  the  non-defining  clause 
"which  is  of  recent  invention"  can  be  detached  without 
interfering  with  the  significance  of  the  principal  statement 
that  "the  process  extracts  both  the  gold  and  silver,  etc." 
Countless  processes  are  "of  recent  invention"  but  only 
special  processes  will  "extract  gold  and  silver  at  a  cost 
of  50  cents  per  ton  of  ore. ' ' 

Furthermore,  a  non-defining  clause  gives  independent 
comment,  description,  or  explanation — anything  but  limi- 
tation of  the  antecedent.  In  the  last  example,  the  relative 
clause  can  be  written  either  as  a  parenthesis,  or  as  a  sepa- 
rate sentence,  thus:  "The  process  (which  is  of  recent  in- 
vention) extracts,  etc."  or  "The  process  is  of  recent  inven- 
tion and  is  said  to  extract  both  the  gold  and  silver,  etc. ' ' 
This  cannot  be  done  with  the  defining  clause  in  the  preced- 
ing example  without  decapitating  the  sentence,  for  "the 
process  (which  will  extract  both  the  metals)  is  likely  to  be 
adopted"  or  "the  process  is  likely  to  be  adopted  and  it 
will  extract  both  the  metals"  are  both  badly  expressed. 

To  ascertain  whether  a  clause  does  (or  does  not)  define, 
remove  it,  and  it  will  at  once  become  apparent  whether 
it  is  essential ;  if  it  is  essential,  it  defines.  Ambiguous 
cases  are  frequent,  because  some  clauses  are  capable  of  per- 
forming either  function  and  an  undiscriminating  writer 
may  fail  to  make  himself  understood.  The  uncertainty, 
as  to  whether  the  clause  is  limiting  or  descriptive,  can  be 
obviated  by  making  plain  what  is  the  antecedent.  Re- 
write the  sentence,  so  that  the  meaning  becomes  clear 
beyond  peradventure. 

Punctuation  should  be  a  guide  in  most  doubtful  cases, 
for  the  non-defining  clause  ought  to  be  preceded  by  a 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  79 

comma.  But  this  test  is  not  reliable,  simply  because 
punctuation  is  often  slighted.  This  much  may  be  said: 
The  information  given  by  a  defining  clause  must  be  taken 
at  once,  with  the  antecedent,  or  both  are  useless;  while 
the  information  given  by  a  non-defining  clause  will  keep, 
the  clause  being  complete  in  sense  without  the  antecedent. 

A  few  examples  will  serve  to  illustrate.  The  first  three 
are  taken  from  one  of  my  own  books,  written  before  I 
paid  attention  to  the  nicety  of  these  distinctions. 

"A  good  millman  has  the  clarified  common  sense  which 
iies  at  the  basis  of  true  science."  Here  the  last  clause 
defines,  the  reference  is  to  a  special  kind  of  common 
sense,  namely,  the  kind  that  "lies  at  the  basis  of  true 
science."  However,  in  this  case  no  misunderstanding  is 
caused  by  the  use  of  which,  the  clause  carries  the  mean- 
ing of  limitation  in  either  case,  and  no  harm  has  been 
done.  Yet,  the  sentence  is  clearer  and  stronger  with  a 
that:  "A  good  millman  has  the  clarified  common  sense 
that  lies  at  the  basis  of  true  science. ' ' 

"That  interval  of  time  is  utilized  in  the  shifting  of  the 
material  which  the  hammer  blows  are  shaping."  Here 
which  is  evidently  an  elegant  variation  from  that,  which 
has  been  used  just  before.  The  antecedent  (material)  is 
defined  by  the  relative  clause,  which  describes  it  as  the 
particular  material  undergoing  shaping  by  the  action 
of  the  hammer.  Therefore  that  is  required  in  place  of 
which.  But,  even  more  certainly,  the  sentence  requires 
change.  The  that  before  "interval"  might  well  be 
changed  to  this,  for  the  reference  is  to  an  "interval  of 
time"  previously  discussed.  As  soon  as  this  is  used  the 
hankering  for  euphony  is  satisfied  and  the  that  before 
"the  hammer"  becomes  comfortable. 


80  A  GUIDE  TO 

"The  hammer  which  cracks  open  the  nut  may  liberate 
the  kernel  without  crushing  it."  This  also  may  be 
amended,  for  the  antecedent  (hammer)  is  limited  by  the 
clause  as  one  that  * '  cracks  open  the  nut. ' '  Therefore  that 
is  better.  Here  also  no  particular  harm  is  done,  for  the 
meaning  is  not  upset,  as  it  is  in  the  additional  examples 
(taken  from  other  authors). 

"The  Trail  smelter  is  treating  ore  from  the  Sunshine 
mine  at  a  profit  which  only  runs  1.4%  in  copper,  $1.50  in 
gold,  and  23  cents  in  silver. ' '  This  says  that  the  ' '  profit ' ' 
runs  so  much,  but  it  is  the  ' '  ore ' '  that  contains  the  metals 
mentioned.  The  clause  introduced  by  the  relative  pro- 
noun in  this  instance  is  defining  and  the  information 
given  must  be  taken  with  the  antecedent,  which  is  "ore," 
not ' '  profit. "  "  At  a  profit ' '  is-  incidental  and  only  needed 
for  emphasis,  since  ore  is  not  "treated"  usually  except 
"  at  a  profit. ' '  Re-arrange  the  sentence,  thus :  ' '  The  Trail 
smelter  is  treating,  at  a  profit,  ore  from  the  Sunshine  mine 
that  runs  only,  etc."  Or  "The  Sunshine  mine  is  sending 
ore  to  the  Trail  smelter  and  this  ore  yields  a  profit,  al- 
though containing  only,  etc." 

"There  is  a  singular  absence  of  oxidation  in  these  ore- 
bodies  which  may  be  due  to  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  'drift'  which  has  in  the  Glacial  period  mantled  the 
whole  district."  Is  the  oxidation  or  are  the  orebodies 
due  to  the  protection  of  the  'drift'?  It  is  a  mark  of  the 
non-defining  clause  that  the  information  it  conveys  may 
be  postponed ;  it  need  not  follow  immediately  on  the  heels 
of  the  antecedent.  In  this  case  which  introduces  the  clause 
referring  to  the  "oxidation";  therefore  it  is  correct, 
though  the  sentence  is  ambiguous.  But  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  same  sentence  there  comes  another  relative  clause 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  81 

describing  the  'drift'  and  limiting  it  by  stating  that  it  is 
"the  Glacial  drift"  responsible  for  the  alluvium  "man- 
tling the  whole  district."  There  might  be  other  kinds  of 
'drift,'  formed  in  other  geological  periods  and  distrib- 
uted over  parts  of  the  district,  but  this  is  not  one  of 
them ;  the  clause  defines,  and  the  relative  pronoun  should 
be  that.  The  mere  cloubt  as  to  the  meaning  indicates  that 
the  sentence  needs  to  be  re-arranged,  as  thus : 

"In  these  orebodies  there  is  a  singular  absence  of  oxi- 
dation, which  may  be  due  to  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  'drift'  that  mantled  the  whole  district  during  the 
Glacial  period." 

"The  law  has  many  defects  and  contains  a  number  of 
clauses  which  should  be  changed  as  soon  as  possible." 
There  are  certain  "clauses"  requiring  change,  those  that 
are  "defective"  should  be  changed;  the  clause  is  definitive 
and  not  incidental.  That  is  preferable  to  which. 

"The  elevation  which  occurred  in  Pleistocene  time  and 
which  affected  the  American  river,  may  have  had  some 
influence  on  the  Yuba."  The  question  is  as  to  whether 
the  writer  refers  to  a  particular  elevation  occurring  in 
the  Pleistocene  period  as  distinguished  from  others  that 
happened  earlier  or  later.  Or  does  he  refer  to  a  soli- 
tary elevation  during  Pleistocene  time?  The  context 
shows  that  he  is  speaking  of  one  out  of  many  elevations 
and  that  he  indicates  a  particular  one  occurring  at  a  par- 
ticular period  and  causing  specific  geological  changes, 
therefore  the  sentence  ought  to  read:  "The  elevation  that 
occurred  in  Pleistocene  time,  etc.,  may  have  had  some 
influence  on  the  Yuba."  The  second  which  (preceding 
"affected")  is  justified  by  the  first  (after  "elevation"),  and 
the  doubtful  use  of  one  suggests  the  advisability  of  elimi- 


82  A  GUIDE  TO 

nating  the  second  by  a  reconstruction  of  the  sentence. 
When  in  doubt,  re-write  your  sentence.  A  doubtful  mean- 
ing is  much  worse  than  doubtful  grammar.  The  sentence 
may  be  changed  thus:  "The  elevation  that  affected  the 
American  river  during  Pleistocene  time  may  have  had 
some  effect  upon  the  Yuba  also. ' ' 

'  *  There  is  a  mine  in  the  downtown  district  which  is  in  a 
position  to  furnish  large  quantities  of  manganese  ore." 
The  '  downtown '  is  a  part  of  the  Leadville  district  within, 
and  adjacent  to,  the  city  itself.  The  question  arises:  Is 
the  "mine"  or  the  "district"  to  furnish  the  ore?  The 
sentence  says  the  latter;  other  information  points  to  the 
former.  The  two  can  be  harmonized  by  employing  that. 
Avoid  ambiguity  and  rebuild  the  sentence,  thus:  "In 
the  downtown  district  there  is  a  mine  that  is  in  a 
position  to  furnish  large  quantities  of  manganese  ore." 
The  antecedent  (mine)  calls  for  definition  and  marks  the 
clause  following  that  as  belonging  to  the  limiting  kind. 
As  re-arranged  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  is  unmistak- 
able and  even  the  use  of  which,  though  erroneous,  would 
not  obscure  the  statement  of  fact. 

' '  The  manager  cut  a  vein  in  the  Brooklyn  ground  which 
was  developed  at  the  800-f t.  level. ' '  If  the  reference  is  to 
the  "ground,"  then  which  is  correct,  but  it  should  be  pre- 
ceded by  a  comma.  If  the  "vein"  is  referred  to,  then 
that  is  required  because  the  clause  defines  the  particular 
vein  "in  the  Brooklyn  ground"  and  "developed  at  the 
800-f  t.  level."  The  context  proved  that  the  latter  was 
meant.  The  doubt  indicates  that  the  sentence  requires 
change.  It  might  be  re-written  thus:  "The  manager 
explored  the  Brooklyn  ground  and  cut  the  vein  that  had 
been  developed  at  the  800-f  t.  level."  Which  800-ft.  level? 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  83 

It  was  the  800-ft.  level  of  the  mine  adjoining  the  Brook- 
lyn. Let  us  call  it  the  New  York.  Then  we  get  at  the 
true  meaning  of  this  cryptic  sentence,  thus:  "The  mana- 
ger did  some  work  in  the  Brooklyn  ground  and  thereupon 
cut  the  vein  that  had  been  previously  explored  at  the 
800-ft.  level  of  the  New  York  mine,  which  adjoins." 

Occasionally  even  when  which  is  correct,  it  is  advis- 
able to  substitute  the  equivalent  and  it,  thus:  "Ac- 
cording to  my  tests  58%  of  the  assay-value  of  the 
ore  could  be  saved  by  a  series  of  concentrations 
which,  owing  to  the  careful  adjustments  necessary, 
is  not  always  obtainable  in  every  day  working  of 
the  mill."  This  can  be  improved,  for  the  second  sen- 
tence tumbles  all  over  the  first  so  as  to  confuse  the  idea 
to  be  conveyed,  like  two  horses  in  tandem  that  want  to 
turn  round  and  shake  hands  with  the  driver.  After  the 
word  "concentrations"  put  a  dash  (to  express  the  break 
in  the  sequence  of  thought)  thus:  " — and  this,  owing  to 
the  careful  adjustments  necessary,  is  not  always  practic- 
able." A  further  improvement  can  be  made  by  substi- 
tuting but  for  the  and.  Practicable  gives  the  exact  intent 
of  the  eight  words  for  which  it  is  substituted. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  distinction  between 
the  uses  of  the  relative  pronouns  is  observed  in  Eliza- 
bethan writers,  notably  Shakespeare  himself.  Many  mod- 
ern authors  disregard  it.  To  technical  writers  it  will  be 
found  a  convenience  in  attaining  lucidity  of  expression. 

For  the  sake  of  euphony,  when  the  conjunction  that 
has  just  been  employed  or  when  the  antecedent  is  quali- 
fied by  that,  it  may  be  necessary  to  avoid  a  disagreeable 
repetition  of  the  word.  Then  use  the  participle,  as  "Men 
working  underground"  in  place  of  "Men  that  work 


84  A  GUIDE  TO 

underground."  Or  use  the  infinitive,  as  "He  was  the 
first  manager  that  succeeded  in  making  the  mine  profit- 
able" may  be  changed  to  "He  was  the  first  manager  to 
succeed  in  making,  etc. ' '  Similarly,  if  which  is  overworked, 
substitute  and  this;  thus:  "He  worked  hard,  which  was 
all  that  he  could  do,"  can  be  written  "He  worked  hard, 
and  this  was  all,  etc."  Then,  if  despite  these  variants, 
the  sentence  is  still  overburdened  with  relative  pronouns, 
there  is  one  remedy:  Re- write  and  re-arrange.  It  is  not 
the  fault  of  the  language,  but  yours. 

I  am  aware  that  no  part  of  the  present  writing  is  so  open 
to  criticism  as  this  attempt  to  elucidate  the  use  of  the  rela- 
tive pronouns.  It  is  likely  that  in  my  effort  to  emphasize 
the  neglect  of  one  of  them,  I  shall  be  charged  with  undue 
partiality  for  that  and  a  prejudice  against  which.  The 
attempt  to  state  useful  rules  may  read  like  an  effort  to 
establish  irrefrangible  laws.  Our  language,  so  the  critic 
will  say,  has  other  devices  to  mark  the  restrictive  clause 
and  it  is  easy  to  avoid  the  monotony  of  an  arbitrary  rule. 
For  instance,  the  definite  article  the  attached  to  a  noun 
not  previously  made  definite  in  the  context,  distinctly 
points  forward  to  the  relative  clause,  or  whatever  may 
take  its  place,  as  a  limiting  expression.  Professor  Whit- 
ney says :  ' '  Some  authorities  hold  that  who  and  which  are 
to  be  used  as  co-ordinating  or  simply  descriptive  relatives, 
but  that  as  limiting  a  descriptive.  .  .  .  But  the  best 
English  usage  by  no  means  requires  such  a  distinction."* 
Again  it  may  be  asserted  that  "the  relative  clause  is  not 
necessarily  of  one  sort  or  the  other,  it  is  frequently  both, 
or  hovers  delicately  on  the  margin  between  the  two."  So 
says  Professor  Bradley  of  the  University  of  California. 

"'Essentials  of  English  Grammar.'     Page  77. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  85 

He  also  argues  against  any  attempt  "to  force  speech  into 
a  cast-iron  mould  in  defiance  of  its  chartered  freedom  of 
ages.  Every  predication  about  a  thing,  no  matter  what 
its  form,  logically  limits  it,  defines  it,  narrows  the  con- 
cept." 

So  it  is  well  to  go  gently.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there 
is  no  arbiter  in  such  matters,  save  the  reader.  Put  your- 
self in  his  place.  Use  such  words  as  will  best  enable  the 
transfer  of  thought  with  least  worry  to  the  recipient.  In 
some  cases  you  may  avoid  ambiguity  by  using  that  instead 
of  which,  in  other  cases  that  is  no  better  than  which  and 
only  serves  as  a  stumbling  block  to  the  transfer  of  ideas. 
So  I  apologize  if  my  statements  have  seemed  too  arbi- 
trary ;  my  purpose  is  simply  to  stimulate  the  attention  of 
technical  writers  to  some  details  of  their  literary  mech- 
anism. 

This  discussion  concerning  relative  pronouns  is  worth 
while,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  the  light  it  throws 
on  the  necessity  for  re-constructing  doubtful  sentences. 
Grammar  is  worthy  of  respect,  euphony  is  desirable,  idiom 
is  not  to  be  neglected;  but  precedence  must  be  given  to 
clearness  of  statement.  Sacrifice  everything  to  this  at- 
tainment and  you  will  find  that  you  have  included  most 
of  the  other  qualities.  It  is  seldom  necessary  to  forego 
any  of  them,  for  the  resources  of  our  language  are 
equal  to  all  the  demands  of  exact  and  felicitous  expres- 
sion. Be  lucid,  and  all  these  other  qualities  shall  be 
yours,  as  you  desire  them  and  practice  to  attain  them. 


86  A  GUIDE  TO 

EXAMPLES  OF  JOURNALESE. 

1.  "The  strike  in  the  Ophir  mine  has  been  demon- 
strated to  be  of  a  permanent  character."    This  refers  to 
the  finding  of  ore ;  the  writer  means  that  the  lode  has  been 
proved  to  be  persistent. 

2.  *  *  This  is  no  secondary  enrichment,  it  is  a  permanent 
orebody. "    Here  also  permanent  is  used  instead  of  per- 
sistent or  continuous. 

3.  "The  principal  work  being  prosecuted  at  this  time 
is  in  the  shaft." 

4.  "The  Butte  &  Arizona  Co.  is  prosecuting  develop- 
ment work  with  vigor. ' ' 

5.  "A   vigorous   campaign    of   development    is   being 
prosecuted. ' ' 

Certainly,  the  writers  of  these  sentences  ought  to  be 
prosecuted.  In  the  first  example,  the  word  'done'  would 
serve  the  purpose  and  in  the  second  'pushing'  would  suf- 
fice. The  third  quotation  is  an  example  of  dispropor- 
tionate language,  for  it  happens  to  refer  to  unimportant 
mining  operations,  and  it  might  have  been  stated  that 
"steps  have  been  taken  to  develop  the  mine  rapidly"  or 
* '  it  has  been  arranged  to  sink  the  shaft  without  delay. ' ' 

6.  "It  is  announced  that  concentrating  facilities  will 
be  provided  for  near  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel,"  meaning 
thereby  that  a  concentrator  is  to  be  built  near  the  mouth 
of  the  adit. 

7.  "The  Frisco  Co.  is  unable  to  place  its  new  equip- 
ment in  commission."    That  is,  the  company  is  unable  to 
start  its  new  machinery  (for  lack  of  fuel). 

8.  "Vigorous  cross-cutting  is  being  inaugurated." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  87 

9.  "The  inauguration  of  an  extensive  plan  of  develop- 
ment." 

10.  "An  extensive  campaign  of  development  has  been 
inaugurated. ' ' 

11.  "Ore  shipments  have  been  inaugurated." 

12.  "Work  on  a  50-ton  mill  is  to  be  inaugurated  in 
September." 

13.  "Extensive  improvements  have  been  made." 

14.  "An    extensive    mine    equipment    has    been    pro- 
vided." 

Both  extensive  and  inaugurate  are  good  words  in  the 
wrong  place.  Extensive  means  extended  widely;  in  No. 
10  it  is  not  misplaced,  but  in  No.  9,  13,  and  14  'elaborate' 
is  meant.  In  No.  13  'big'  would  probably  do,  and  in  No. 
14  'expensive'  may  be  surmised.  As  to  inaugurate,  that 
word,  like  prosecute,  is  merely  grandiose.  The  President 
is  inaugurated,  not  a  "plan  of  development."  In  No.  8 
'  started '  is  meant ;  in  No.  9  inauguration  should  be  '  com- 
mencement'; in  No.  10, 11,  and  12,  'begun'  or  'commenced' 
will  serve. 

15.  "A  new  tramway  is  being  installed."    It  is  being 
'erected'  or  'built.' 

16.  "A  large  per  cent  of  the  mining  and  milling  instal- 
lations are  designed  by  machinery  builders. ' '    Per  cent  is 
wrong ;  it  should  be  used  only  as  a  term  of  precision  with 
a  number,  here  it  means  merely  'portion'  or  'proportion,' 
that  is,  "A  large  proportion  of  the  mining  and  milling 
machinery  was  designed  by  manufacturers. ' '    Installation 
is  a  pretentious  word.    You  install  or  induct  a  man  into 
office. 

17.  "Since  the  installation  of  the  air-compressor,  oper- 
ations have  been  extensively  prosecuted."  Thorough  jour- 


88  A  GUIDE  TO 

nalese.     Installation  is  out  of  scale,  for  a  two-drill  com 
pressor  has  been  erected  to  hasten  the  work  or  to  enlarge 
the  scale  of  it.    Installation,  inaugurate,  and  prosecute  are 
words  that  are  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  boosters  of  wild- 
cats. 

18.  "As  soon  as  the  heading  has  been  advanced  far 
enough,  drifting  both  east  and  west  is  to  be  inaugurated. ' ' 
Here  driving  is  required.    You  inaugurate  a  new  reign  or 
a  presidential  term,  but  you  do  not  inaugurate  the  driving 
of  a  level  or  the  cooking  of  an  egg. 

19.  "In  some  instances  the  adoption  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  contract  system  has  proved  most  advanta- 
geous and  efficacious."     An  example  of  tautology;  the 
last  two  words  serve  no  useful  purpose. 

20.  "A  mine  in  which  the  company  recently  acquired 
extensive  interests."    Here  the  objectionable  word  means 
simply  'large.'    It  might  be  expensive,  but  not  extensive, 
for  interests  (that  is,  holdings)  are  not  measured  by  their 
length,  but  their  size  or  their  value. 

21.  "The  first  extensive  shipment  came  from  the  425- 
ft.  level."    'Important'  or  'large'  can  be  substituted. 

22.  "In. the  earlier  working  of  the  mines,  tunnels  of 
considerable  length — approximating  some  twelve  miles  or 
more — were  driven  for  the  drainage  of  seepage."     This 
should  read  "In  the  early  working  of  the  mines  adits  of 
great  length — twelve  miles  or  more — were  driven  to  drain 
the  seepage." 

23.  "Limestone  of  any  character  in  the  producing  sec- 
tions of  the  district  seem  equally  prolific."    This  should 
be:  "The  different  limestones  in  the  productive  areas  of 
the  district  seem  to  be  alike  ore-bearing."  Prolific  is  not 
justified.    Sections  is  colloquial. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.       -  89 

24.  "As  it  was  a  sine  qua  non  that  this  shaft  should  be 
sunk  100  ft.  within  three  months."    The  subject  does  not 
warrant  a  Latin  quotation,  nor  does  the  sense  require  it. 
The  use  of  Greek  or  Latin,  French  or  German,  where  Eng- 
lish suffices  is  a  mark  not  of  the  literate,  but  of  the  pseudo- 
literate,  man.     The  sentence  can  be  improved  by  saying 
either  that  it  was  necessary  or  a  condition  of  the  contract 
that  the  shaft  should  be  sunk  as  stated. 

25.  "It  is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  had  it  been  pos- 
sible to  build  a  mill,  a  large  amount  of  low-grade  ore,  car- 
rying more  or  less  value,  would  have  undergone  a  method 
of  treatment,   rather  than  be  thrown  over  the  dump." 
Sloppy  writing.    If  it  had  no  value,  it  would  not  be  ore ; 
the  more  or  less  is  only  the  pretense  of  accuracy.    An  ore 
does  not  undergo  a  method,  it  undergoes  a  treatment.  The 
sentence  may  be  amended  thus :  "  It  is  certain  that  if  it  had 
been  possible  to  build  a  mill,  a  large  amount  of  low-grade 
ore  would  have  been  treated,  instead  of  being  thrown  over 
the  dump." 

26.  "The  ores  of  the  Bully  Hill  district  contain  much 
higher  values  in  gold  and  silver. ' '  The  writer  means,  and 
he  ought  to  say,  that:  "The  ores,  etc.,  are  richer  in  gold 
and  silver." 

27.  "A  six  inch  streak  of  ore  is  exposed  that  carries 
values  from  assay  tests  varying  from  1000  to  1500  ozs.  in 
silver  to  the  ton."    This  is  as  full  of  errors  as  a  water- 
melon is  of  pips.     Hyphens  are  needed  between  six  and 
inch,  also  between  assay  and  tests.    The  streak  of  ore  car- 
ries not  values  nor  algebraic  formulae,  but  metals ;  in  this 
case,  silver.     The  plural  of  the  abbreviation  oz.  is  inex- 
cusable.   The  sentence  may  be  amended  thus:  "A  six-inch 
streak  of  ore  is  exposed,  carrying  from  1000  to  1500  oz. 


90  A  GUIDE  TO 

silver  per  ton,  as  determined  by  assay-tests. "  If  it  is  im- 
portant to  bring  out  the  fact  that  assays  have  been  made, 
it  is  well  to  add  the  last  clause ;  as  a  rule  the  determina- 
tion of  the  contents  of  an  ore  requires  assays. 

Some  of  the  Worst. — Here  is  one  describing  the  opera- 
tion of  a  machine-drill : 

"Following  the  shooting,  the  mucker  begins  his  work, 
the  drill  man  climbs  to  the  top  of  the  muck,  and  by  the 
time  the  four  feet  of  ground  shot  down  is  mucked  out, 
he  is  again  ready  to  shoot  his  round  of  holes."  Muck, 
muck,  muck — it  is  the  very  muck  of  writing.  The  word 
m,eans  filth  or  manure.  It  became  used  as  a  synonym  for 
dirt,  the  miner 's  term  for  broken  rock.  Thus  muck  refers 
to  the  shattered  rock  resulting  from  blasting ;  it  is  not  in 
the  least  filthy.  Shovelers,  that  is,  those  who  shovel  the 
broken  rock  into  the  car  at  the  face  of  a  level  or  cross-cut, 
are  now  called  muckers.  What  gain  is  there  here  ?  Shov- 
eler  is  significant,  mucker  is  the  rubbish  of  words. 

The  next  example  comes  from  a  description  of  the  small 
locomotives  used  in  mines.  It  reads: 

"Face  gathering,  wherein  the  locomotive  must  enter  the 
room,  imposes  conditions  which  call  for  distinctly  special 
treatment  in  the  design  and  equipment  of  a  locomotive  of 
high  efficiency.  The  ordinary  haulage  locomotive  in  nearly 
all  cases  is  totally  unfitted  to  this  work,  which  involves 
operation  in  narrow  quarters,  around  sharp  curves,  over 
poorly  laid  tracks,  etc.  The  locomotive  of  real  value  in  room 
work  is  one  which,  by  reason  of  proportions  and  construc- 
tion, will  go  wherever  a  mine  car  will  run,  and  with  equal 
facility.  It  must  be  compact,  no  wider  than  the  wheels, 
with  short- wheel-base  and  small  wheels,  and  without  long 
overhang  at  either  end." 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  91 

This  is  the  sort  of  thing  that  makes  a  technical  descrip- 
tion seem  like  a  cryptogram  or  a  slab  of  picture  writing 
from  Nineveh.  To  any  one  versed  in  the  subject  of  loco- 
motives for  underground  use,  this  paragraph  is  intelli- 
gible, but  only  that.  It  succeeds  in  making  the  subject  as 
uninteresting  as  possible  and  the  meaning  as  much  be- 
neath the  surface  as  the  locomotive  itself. 

Both  of  these  examples  come  from  '  write-ups, '  the  trade 
name  for  a  eulogistic  description  of  a  manufactured  arti- 
cle, prepared  in  the  interest  of  the  manufacturer  and  writ- 
ten by  a  man  more  accustomed  to  the  use  of  a  screw- 
driver than  a  pen.  The  worst  writing  concerning  tech- 
nical matters  is  to  be  found  in  such  disguised  advertise- 
ments. They  ought  to  be  attractively  written,  to  serve 
their  purpose;  failing  to  do  so,  they  illustrate  the  essen- 
tial inefficiency  of  bad  writing. 

Similarly:  "The  Union  Leasing  Company  has  encoun- 
tered a  promising  vein  10  ft.  north  of  the  shaft."  You 
can,  if  you  are  not  unsympathetic,  visualize  the  episode 
and,  with  the  eyes  of  the  mind,  you  will  see  the  company 
going  forth  to  meet  a  promising  vein,  and  shaking  hands 
with  it  at  a  place  10  ft.  north  of  the  shaft. 

Exploitation  and  exploration  are  often  confused.  Ex- 
ploit means  to  put  to  use;  explore  means  to  search.  Ex- 
ploitation refers  to  the  extraction  and  utilization  of  ore; 
exploration  refers  to  the  work  involved  in  looking  for 
more  ore.  Thus  (speaking  of  faults)  :  "In  certain  cases, 
by  judicious  exploitation,  the  veins  have  been  recovered 
and  production  continued."  Obviously,  exploration  is 
meant. 

' '  The  exploration  of  the  mine  has  yielded  a  large  output 
of  excellent  ore."  While  ore  is  broken  in  the  course  of 


92  A  GUIDE  TO 

exploratory  work,  it  is  fairly  certain  that  exploitation  is 
intended  in  this  case. 

"It  is  good  policy  to  do  some  further  exploitation  work 
in  search  of  the  faulted  vein. ' '  Here,  *  exploratory  work ' 
is  meant. 

"There  is  a  six-inch  calcite  vein  with  low  silver  values 
located  on  the  property  which  crosses  the  main  vein." 
Does  the  'property'  cross  the  main  vein  or  it  is  the  'cal- 
cite vein'  that  does  so?  Many  corrections  are  needed. 
The  sentence  should  read:  "On  the  property  there  is  a 
six-inch  vein  of  calcite,  poor  in  silver,  and  this  small  vein 
crosses  the  main  vein." 

"It  is  quite  clear  from  local  information  that  the  man- 
ager has  gathered  that  large  bodies  of  ore  will  be  found. ' ' 
Probably  it  was  no  clearer  than  the  construction  of  the 
sentence.  The  relative  pronoun  that  and  the  conjunction 
that  are  used  in  a  confusing  way.  Is  it  "clear,  from  local 
information,  that  the  manager  has  concluded  that  large 
bodies  of  ore  will  be  found,"  or  is  it  "clear  from  local  in- 
formation, collected  by  the  manager,  that  large  bodies  of 
ore  will  be  found ' '  ?  We  presume  the  latter  to  be  correct. 

Contemplate  is  a  word  dear  to  the  chroniclers  of  wild- 
cat operations.  The  promoters  of  feline  finance  ' '  contem- 
plate the  inauguration  of  a  campaign  of  production, ' '  the 
"installation  of  a  mill,"  or  the  "placing  of  a  smelter  in 
commission."  Thus:  "The  Granite  Mining  Co.  is  contem- 
plating the  starting  of  the  pumps."  You  can  almost  see 
them;  a  group  of  thoughtful  men  staring  at  the  pumps 
and  expecting  them  to  be  willed  into  movement. 

Estate  is  another  word  belonging  to  the  jargon  of  the 
promoter,  for  it  suggests  enough  of  fixed  ownership  to 
obscure  the  fact  that  the  property  consists  of  a  number  of 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  93 

unpatented  claims,  the  title  to  which  may  be  lost  by  failure 
to  do  the  assessment  work.  So  "the  estate  of  the  Manhat- 
tan Morgan  Corporation  will  be  actively  explored,  the 
directors  having  decided  to  prosecute  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign of  development,"  which,  being  interpreted,  means 
that  they  intend  to  sink  a  few  prospect  holes  in  order  to 
have  an  excuse  for  selling  their  heavily  watered  stock. 
Grandiose  language  usually  indicates  flamboyant  finance. 


Many  clumsy  sentences  and  awkward  locutions  may  be 
avoided  by  a  little  restraint  in  the  use  of  prepositions; 
they  are  often  meaningless  little  obstacles  interjected  into 
the  flow  of  speech. 


Technical  words  are  designed  for  a  specific  purpose,  as 
tools  are  kept  apart  for  special  duties.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
open  a  can  of  sardines  with  a  chisel.  Such  use  blunts  the 
chisel  and  destroys  its  service  in  carpentering.  The  sig- 
nificance of  words  intended  for  special  uses  is  impaired 
when  they  are  made  to  do  a  common  service,  for  which 
other  words  are  available. 


94  A  GUIDE  TO 

HINTS  IN   GRAMMAR. 

Subjunctive. — In  conditional  sentences  the  use  of  the 
subjunctive  mood  is  correct,  but  it  is  dying  out  so  rapidly 
as  to  make  it  seem  an  affectation,  except  in  the  case  of 
were  for  was.  On  the  whole,  the  subjunctive  forms  are 
best  avoided  in  technical  writing,  as  being  unnecessary, 
and  dangerous  to  all  save  the  most  practised  writers. 

Shall  and  Will. — The  idiomatic  use  comes  so  naturally 
to  a  small  minority  that  they  know  not  how  they  do  it, 
while  to  the  majority  misuse  is  so  ingrained  that  rules  are 
ineffective.  The  directions  for  the  employment  of  shall 
apply  to  should ;  and  those  referring  to  will,  apply  also  to 
would.* 

1.  When  shall  and  will  retain  their  original  meanings 
of  command  and  wish,  respectively,  they  are  used  in  all 
three  persons  unchanged.    Thus : 

Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

You  should  not  say  such  things. 

Whom  should  he  meet  but  Jones. 

I  will  have  my  way. 

I  would  not  have  it  done  for  the  world. 

A  coat  will  last  two  years  with  care. 

2.  In  plain  statements  as  to  the  future,  the  first  person 
has  shall,  while  the  second  and  third  persons  have  will. 
Thus: 

I  shall,  you  will,  die  some  day. 

Shall  I,  will  they,  be  here  tomorrow? 

We  should,  he  would,  have  consented  if  asked. 

I  should,  you  would,  like  to  go. 

"These  rules  are  taken,  with  most  of  the  illustrations,  from  'The 
King's  English.'  Clarendon  Press,  1906. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  95 

3.  In  future  and  conditional  statements  that  include 
an  expression  of  the  speaker's  wish,  intention,  menace, 
assurance,  consent,  refusal,  promise,  and  so  forth,  the 
first  person  has  will,  while  the  second  and  third  persons 
have  shall.  Thus: 

I  will  tell  you  presently. 

You  shall  repent  it  before  long. 

He  shall  not  have  any  of  it. 

We  would  go  if  we  could. 

They  should  have  had  it  if  they  had  asked. 

I  will  drown  and  no  one  shall  save  me. 

There  are  other  rules,  with  their  exceptions,  but  for 
technical  writers  these  three  will  suffice.  The  second  rule 
is  the  one  oftenest  broken,  without  excuse. 

The  Possessive  Case.— This  is  used  excessively,  and  in 
cases  where  the  preposition  of  is  desirable.  Thus:  "The 
ore  has  been  compared  to  a  nut  struck  by  a  hammer 
whose  blow  has  separated  the  valueless  shell  (the  quartz) 
from  the  valuable  kernel  (the  gold)."  Whose  is  the  pos- 
sessive case  of  who;  which  is  not  inflected  and  it  is  as  the 
possessive  of  which  that  whose  is  employed  in  this  case. 
In  poetry  and  by  a  personification  of  the  thing  men- 
tioned, it  becomes  proper  to  use  whose.  Thus :  ' '  The  city 
whose  towers  he  saw  in  the  distance."  In  the  example 
quoted  above,  "hammer"  is  not  used  in  any  personal  or 
poetic  sense,  and  it  should  read:  "A  hammer  the  blow  of 
which  has  separated,  etc. ' '  If  this  sounds  queer,  re-write 
the  sentence  and  avoid  the  dilemma. 

Similarly,  its  is  often  used  where  of  it  would  be  better. 
Thus:  "The  mine  is  valuable  and  its  development  will 
furnish  scope  for  an  able  man."  It  is  more  correct  to  say, 
"and  the  development  of  it  will  furnish  scope,"  for  the 


96  A  GUIDE  TO 

mine  does  not  possess  a  development,  that  engineering 
result  being  a  consequence  of  operations  performed. 

"  Clever  chemists  invent  processes  whose  success  hinges 
on  their  application  in  practice."  This  can  be  improved 
thus:  "Clever  chemists  invent  processes  the  success  of 
which  hinges  on  the  application  of  them  in  practice. ' ' 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  taste  and  the  want  of  it;  those 
that  doubt  the  advantage  of  using  the  preposition  in 
place  of  the  possessive  (of  them,  of  it,  of  him,  etc.,  in  place 
of  their,  its,  his,  etc.)  should  read  Ruskin.  But  apart 
from  literary  form,  with  which  the  technical  writer  is 
supposed  to  have  no  concern,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  careful 
use  of  grammatical  inflections  will  enable  him  to  express 
himself  more  clearly,  and  that  is  the  whole  purpose  of  the 
present  criticism.  For  it  can  readily  be  retorted  that 
Ruskin  mixes  his  which  and  that  in  order  not  to  interfere 
with  the  marvellous  assonance  of  his  writing  and  to  pre- 
serve a  euphony  characteristic  of  a  prose  style  that  is 
finer  than  poetry,  but  the  technical  writer,  whom  we 
have  in  view,  aims  simply  to  make  his  meaning  clear, 
that  is,  to  convey  his  ideas  on  practical  subjects  with  the 
minimum  of  ambiguity.  In  poetry,  ambiguity  may  add 
a  charm ;  in  technology,  it  is  a  nuisance  only.  Therefore, 
keep  in  mind  the  rules  of  grammar,  and  when  the  appli- 
cation of  them  produces  a  result  that  is  not  euphonious 
or  gives  a  sentence  of  doubtful  meaning,  you  will  know 
that  it  needs  re-arrangement.  In  most  cases  you  will  find 
that  grammar  has  been  respected  at  the  expense  of  idiom 
or  both  at  the  cost  of  lucidity.  Make  everything  subserve 
the  purpose  of  your  writing,  that  is,  to  be  understood  be- 
yond peradventure. 

The  use  of  a  singular  verb  with  a  plural  noun  is  a  locu- 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  97 

tion  that  bothers  many  people.  It  is  correct  to  say  that 
"500  tons  of  ore  is  treated  daily,"  because  "500  tons  of 
ore"  is  an  aggregate  and  performs  the  function  of  a  col- 
lective noun.  The  idea  is  of  a  quantity  of  ore  as  a  whole, 
all  of  which  is  treated  in  a  continuous  operation.  But  it 
is  proper  to  say:  "Five  tons  of  ore  were  tested  in  lots  of 
one  ton  each  with  different  cyanide  solutions  so  as  to 
ascertain  which  strength  of  solution  would  give  the  high- 
est extraction. ' '  Here  the  idea  is  of  five  different  entities, 
each  of  which  was  treated  by  itself.  So  we  say  : 

"A  hundred  tons  of  ore  is  shipped  to  the  smelter,  while 
350  tons  is  milled  at  the  mine. ' ' 

To  many  this  locution  is  offensive  because  it  carries  an 
illogical  idea;  therefore,  avoid  it  by  using  a  different 
phrasing  when  possible. 


98  A  GUIDE  TO 

MINOR  MATTERS. 

Punctuation. — This  is  a  subject  fitter  for  a  chapter  than 
a  paragraph,  but  the  limits  of  this  little  essay  will  not 
permit  of  an  exhaustive  treatment.  The  aim  of  punctua- 
tion is  to  indicate  the  manner  in  which  the  writing  is  to 
be  read;  it  "does  for  the  eye  what  vocal  stress  does  for 
the  ear."  Barrett  Wendell  summarizes  the  uses  of  the 
four  principal  marks  of  punctuation  thus:  "The  period 
is  the  strongest  mark  of  punctuation ;  it  marks  the  limits 
of  sentences.  The  next  strongest  mark  is  the  colon; 
weaker,  but  still  stronger  than  the  comma,  is  the  semi- 
colon; weakest  and  most  frequent  of  all  is  the  comma."* 
Herbert  Spencer  adopted  the  plan  of  placing  actual  spaces 
between  the  groups  of  sentences  dealing  with  the  sepa- 
rate ideas  expressed  in  a  single  paragraph.  Undoubt- 
edly we  could  mark  the  varying  duration  of  vocal  pause 
between  words,  clauses,  sentences,  and  paragraphs  by 
blank  spaces  of  graduated  length,  but  punctuation  marks 
are  deemed  the  most  effective  way  of  doing  so. 

Abrupt  change  of  thought  and  opposition  of  ideas  is 
indicated  by  the  dash,  which  is  overworked  by  amateurs. 
The  colon  suggests  a  sequel;  it  serves  to  introduce  a  spe- 
cific statement.  It  used  to  be  employed  to  indicate  conse- 
quential statements:  those  prompted  by  the  thought  pre- 
ceding; but  for  such  a  purpose  it  has  become  customary 
to  adopt  the  semicolon.  The  latter  is  now  a  misnomer, 
for  it  is  not  a  half-colon,  rather,  it  is  what  it  resembles, 
namely,  a  compromise  between  the  period  and  comma,  the 
two  marks  of  which  it  is  built.  The  interrogation  point  ( ?) 
and  the  exclamation  (!)  are  used  but  little  in  modern 

•""English  Composition.'     Page  83. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  99 

writing,  being  deemed  affected,  for  the  ideas  of  doubt  and 
astonishment  are  expressed  more  incisively  by  words 
than  by  punctuation. 

The  comma  is  needed  before  the  last  member  of  an  enu- 
meration that  includes  three  or  more.  Thus  from  "Dick, 
Tom  and  Harry  arrived  today, ' '  it  might  be  inferred  that 
Tom  and  Harry  arrived  in  company,  and  that  Dick  came 
by  himself.  To  take  an  example  from  technical  writing: 
"This  card  system  divides  itself  into  several  parts, 
namely,  correspondence,  technical  information,  catalogues 
and  miscellaneous. ' '  This  means  that  there  are  three  sub- 
divisions, one  of  which  is  "catalogues  and  miscellaneous"; 
if,  however,  a  comma  precedes  the  and,  the  sentence  will 
mean  (as  intended)  that  there  are  four  sub-divisions,  as 
stated.  Also  the  sentence,  "He  left  a  wife,  son  and  daugh- 
ter," The  son  and  daughter  become  Siamese  twins. 

The  utility  of  this  function  of  the  comma  is  seen  in  the 
following  example:  "To  obviate  excessive  expense  for 
power,  stoping  and  hoisting  must  be  done  in  the  day- 
time." Here  "stoping  and  hoisting"  are  purposely 
joined  in  opposition  to  "power,"  as  would  not  be  the 
case,  for  example,  if  a  writer  were  in  the  habit  of  saying, 
incorrectly,  that  "power,  stoping  and  hoisting  are  three 
important  items  of  expense."  The  example  quoted  at 
the  beginning  of  this  paragraph  cannot  be  misunderstood 
by  those  accustomed  to  write  "power,  stoping,  and  hoist- 
ing are  three  items  of  expense,"  using  a  comma  before 
the  and,  to  mark  the  grouping. 

The  double  quotation  mark  " — "  should  be  used  only 
to  indicate  matter  actually  quoted  from  a  speaker  or  a 
writer.  The  single  quotation  mark  ' — '  should  be  used 
in  giving  titles  of  books  or  articles,  as  Bosqui's  'Cyanide 


100  A  GUIDE  TO 

Practice.'  -"He  read  a  paper  entitled  'Secondary  Enrich- 
ment of  Ore  Deposits  V  Use  the  single  quotation  also 
for  special  or  local  technical  terms,  as  'mundic,'  'gusher,' 
'fossick,'  'mucker,'  'black  jack,'  The  single  quote  is  apolo- 
getic and  indicates  words  not  yet  accepted  in  good  litera- 
ture, such  as  'graft',  'wild-cat',  'shyster',  'duffer',  're- 
bater. ' 

Carboniferous  is  the  name  of  a  geological  period,  which 
in  England  (where  the  term  originated)  was  identified 
with  the  formation  of  coal,  but  the  coal  measures  of  other 
countries  belong  to  different  geological  periods,  such  as 
the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary.  Carbonaceous  means  con- 
taining or  yielding  carbon.  Some  writers  use  'carbonif- 
erous' when  they  mean  'carbon-bearing'  and  this  makes 
confusion  with  Carboniferous;  for  instance,  in  Missouri 
there  is  a  Carboniferous  limestone  that  is  carbonaceous. 
Thus:  "The  mineral  solutions  came  in  contact  with  the 
carbonaceous  material  of  the  lower  Coal  Measures  or  some 
other  precipitating  agency."  Give  words  their  special 
duties  and  so  strengthen  their  significance.  Let  Carbon- 
iferous stand  for  the  name  of  the  formation,  and  carbon- 
aceous refer  to  richness  in  carbon. 

Region  refers  to  a  large  territory  of  ill  defined  extent; 
district  is  applied  to  a  defined  and  relatively  small  area. 
Thus:  "The  Silverton  district  is  one  of  the  most  produc- 
tive in  the  San  Juan  region  of  Colorado."  "The  Ward- 
ner  district  is  part  of  the  Coeur  d  'Alene  region  of  Idaho. ' ' 
"The  zinc  and  lead  mining  region  of  southwestern  Mis- 
souri includes  the  Joplin,  Webb  City,  Carterville,  Oro- 
nogo,  Galena,  and  Baxter  Springs  districts."  "In  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  the  principal  mining  centres  are 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  101 

at  a  high  altitude,  as,  for  instance,  the  Leadville  district, 
which  is  two  miles  above  sea-level." 

Camp  is  often  used  as  a  synonym  for  district,  but  it  be- 
comes a  misnomer  when  once  a  mining  settlement  has 
passed  out  of  its  tented  or  temporary  stage  of  growth. 
Field  is  employed  by  Englishmen  much  as  camp  is  used 
by  Americans.  "The  goldfields  of  Australia  are  south  of 
the  equator."  "On  this  (the  Rand)  field  white  labor  is 
at  a  discount."  "The  zinc  field  of  Missouri  is  prosper- 
ous." "The  coalfields  of  West  Virginia." 

By  compounding,  the  bucolic  suggestiveness  of  'field' 
is  lessened,  so  that  we  employ  'coalfield'  and  'goldfield' 
without  a  sense  of  incongruity.  Compare  'battlefield.' 
But  as  mines  are  usually  in  the  mountains  or  on  the  des- 
ert, the  use  of  field  may  well  be  avoided  as  being  with- 
out significance,  if  not  misleading.  We  have  region,  ter- 
ritory, tract,  area,  district,  belt.  Let  the  farmer  have  his 
field  and  the  soldier  his  camp ;  the  miner  has  words  enough 
for  his  own  purpose. 

The  word  balance  is  used  too  often  as  the  equivalent  of 
remainder.  Thus:  "The  flume  has  been  re-built  for  a 
greater  part  of  its  length  and  the  balance  will  be  thor- 
oughly repaired."  Balance  suggests  equalization,  an 
effort  to  produce  equilibrium  or  to  keep  in  due  propor- 
tion. Here  it  means  the  remainder  or  smaller  part  of  the 
flume.  There  is  no  suggestion  of  poise  or  adjustment. 

Latinity. — Elsewhere*  I  have  attacked  the  employment 
of  words  of  Latin  origin  when  plain  English  will  serve 
the  purpose.  The  excessive  use  of  long  technical  terms 
is  becoming  less  common  as  it  is  realized  that  they  are 
often  unnecessary,  besides  being  ugly  and  pretentious. 

*See  Appendix. 


102  A  GUIDE  TO 

We  leave  them  nowadays  to  the  charlatan.  Yet  some 
good  men  err  that  way,  thus :  '  *  The  mineral  is  non-cuprif- 
erous and  auriferous."  This  was  written  by  a  quiet 
thoughtful  writer  usually  free  from  pyrotechnics.  Is  it 
not  better  to  say  that  "the  mineral  contains  gold  but  not 
copper. ' ' 

In  their  effort  to  splurge,  some  writers  use  silicious 
when  they  mean  carrying  quartz,  which  is  a  particular 
form  of  silica;  they  use  metasomatic  until  it  becomes 
only  a  wordy  cloud;  and  when  they  say  calcareous,  it  is 
uncertain  whether  they  refer  to  the  presence  of  aragonite, 
calcite,  or  limestone,  or  merely  a  composition  that  in- 
cludes calcium  oxide.  They  use  a  long  word  that  is  com- 
prehensive but  indefinite  in  place  of  a  short  word  that 
is  less  pompous  but  more  definite.  Such  writers  use  data 
and  strata  as  if  they  were  singular  nouns — a  lapse  to  be 
debited  occasionally  against  university  graduates! 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  103 

SPECIFICATIONS. 

In  preparing  manuscript,  write  on  one  side  of  the  paper 
only  and  use  sheets  of  uniform  size.  Use  the  typewriter, 
if  convenient.  If  written  by  hand,  print  all  proper  names 
carefully.  Allow  space  between  lines  so  that  corrections 
can  be  made  without  crowding.  A  foot-note  should  be 
written  in  the  manuscript  immediately  under  the  place 
to  which  it  refers,  and  a  line  should  be  drawn  across  the 
page  both  above  and  below  it.  Foot-notes  should  be  care- 
fully given.  An  asterisk  or  other  sign  may  serve  to  corre- 
late one  or  two  notes,  but  when  many  foot-notes  are  neces- 
sary it  is  best  to  number  them,  thus : 

in.  A.  F.  Penrose  'Tin  Deposits  of  the  Malay  Peninsula' ; 
Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XX,  pp.  64  to  92. 

^Journal  Amer.  Soc.  Nav.  Eng.,  Vol.  II,  Pt.  3,  p.  17. 

In  referring  to  authors  or  the  names  of  persons,  give 
the  initials.  Exercise  care  in  this  detail.  Any  man  has  a 
right  to  be  annoyed  if  his  name  is  spelled  wrongly,  for  it 
is  the  one  thing  that  is  peculiarly  his  own. 

In  tabulated  statements,  the  head  of  a  column  should 
end  with  a  period.  Headings  should  be  uniform  as  re- 
gards abbreviation.  Single  words  or  the  first  of  the  sev- 
eral words  in  a  description  should  begin  with  a  capital. 

Time  by  the  clock  may  be  written  thus :  5  :40. 

Write  January  14,  not  14th  of  January. 

Instead  of  8  in.  to  10  in.,  write  8  to  10  in. ;  and  instead 
of  30°  to  40°,  say  30  to  40°. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  geologic  formations  and  peri- 
ods: Carboniferous  rocks,  Red  Beds  of  the  Trias,  Ter- 
tiary period. 

Points  of  the  compass  ordinarily  are  not  capitalized, 


104  A  GUIDE  TO 

except  when  they  refer  to  a  region,  as  ' '  conditions  in  the 
South,"  "business  in  the  West."  This  applies  also  to 
their  derivatives  eastern,  western,  etc.,  as  "in  western 
Colorado/'  "in  southern  California";  but  "on  the  East- 
ern seaboard,"  "according  to  Western  methods." 

Always  capitalize  State  when  it  refers  to  a  State  of  the 
Union  (America)  or  of  the  Commonwealth  (Australia)  ; 
thus  "a  state  of  uncertainty"  or  "a  state  of  inebriety," 
but  "the  State  of  Montana,"  "the  State  of  New  South 
Wales,"  and  "the  State  of  Sonora."  This  rule  applies  to 
Territory  also,  as  "the  Territory  of  Alaska." 

Capitalize  Federal  when  it  refers  to  the  Government, 
also  Empire,  Government,  Nation,  and  Republic  when 
they  are  employed  specifically,  as:  "The  resources  of  the 
Government,"  "the  future  of  the  Nation,"  "the  wealth 
of  the  southern  Republic ' ' ;  but  ' '  the  republic  of  letters. ' ' 

Proper  names  that  have  become  trade  terms  are  not 
capitalized.  For  instance,  Bessemer  is  capitalized  only 
as  the  name  of  a  man  or  a  town;  we  speak  of  bessemer 
steel,  bessemer  process.  The  same  rule  holds  good  in 
Portland  cement,  plaster  of  paris,  german  silver,  muntz 
metal,  babbitt  metal,  china  clay. 

In  geographical  names  the  capital  is  not  required  for 
the  last  member  except  when  important,  thus,  we  have 
Hudson  river  but  Atlantic  Ocean;  Delaware  bay,  but 
Rocky  Mountains.  County,  lake,  valley,  basin,  and  river 
should  not  be  capitalized,  but  it  is  proper  to  write  Coast 
range,  Great  Basin,  Front  range,  Great  Lakes. 

Where  the  name  of  a  company  is  not  given  in  full,  use 
a  lower  case  c,  as:  The  Smith  company,  the  North  Pacific 
company.  When  given  in  full,  a  capital  C  is  required, 
thus :  The  Smith  Smelting  &  Mining  Co.,  the  North  Pacific 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  105 

Railroad  Company.  Also  'the  Company'  when  referring 
to  a  particular  company,  the  full  name  of  which  has  been 
previously  given. 

Employ  italics  to  signify  foreign  words:  "The  property 
covered  32  pertenencias."  "The  oficinas  in  Chile."  "It 
was  a  case  of  sauve  qui  pent. ' '  Names  of  ships,  newspa- 
pers, and  periodicals  go  in  italics:  "The  Baltic  sailed 
today."  "The  Times  states  that."  "You  will  see  it  in 
the  North  American  Review." 

Preventive  not     preventative 

Supposititious  suppositions 

Partly  partially,  when  meaning  in  part 

Reagent  re-agent 

Reinforce  re-enforce 

Farther  further,  in  speaking  of  distance 

Delimit  deliminate 

Persistent  permanent,  as  applied  to  ore 

Except  excepting 

"As  far  as  is  applied  to  undoubted  facts,  thus:  "He 
went  as  far  as  Denver. ' ' 

So  far  as  is  used  before  clauses  containing  a  statement 
of  doubt  or  varying  fact,  thus :  "So  far  as  known  the  ore 
is  easy  to  treat  by  cyanidation. " 

Use  English  whenever  possible,  when  writing  in  English. 

Thus  it  is  better  not  to  write  e.g.  but  for  example 


viz. 
i.e. 

'  namely 
"  that  is 

via 
vice  versa 

'  by  way  of 
"  the  reverse 

in  situ 

"  in  place 

In  choosing  between  the  use  of  the  terminations  ic  and 


106 


A  GUIDE  TO 


ical,  as  in  geologic  and  geological,  it  is  well  to  adopt  the 
practice  of  restricting  the  first  to  natural  phenomena, 
relations,  conditions,  and  products,  while  the  second  is 
used  in  designating  the  works  of  man,  as  in  research,  lit- 
erature, speculation.  So  that  we  get : 


Geologic  formation 
Geologic  structure 
Electric  energy 
Geographic  conditions 

The  following  are  correct: 

Acquiesce  in 
Adapted  to 
Averse  to 
Compare  with 
Consist  in  gives  a  definition 
Consist  of  gives  a  compo- 
sition. 

Content  with 
Contrast  with 
Differ  from 
Different  from 


Geological  survey 
Geological  map 
Electrical  machine 
Geographical   bulletin 

Disagree  with 
Favorable  to 
In  view  of 
Necessary  to 
Necessity  for 

Need  of 
Oblivious  of 
Tamper  with 
Tinker  at 
With  a  view  to 


Use  upward,  downward,  toward,  omitting  the  unneces- 
sary s. 

In  speaking  of  the  strike  of  veins,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  give  the  complementary  point  of  the  compass.  Thus: 
"The  lode  strikes  northwest,"  not  'northwest-southeast.' 
The  'southeast'  is  an  obvious  inference. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  107 

THINGS   TO   AVOID. 

Do  not  begin  a  paragraph  with  a  present  participle, 
lest  you  flounder  ere  the  close. 

Reject  pristine,  erstwhile,  and  festive.    They  mark  the 

last  stage  of  journalistic  vulgarity. 

Speak  not  of  the  Phoenix  and  his  ashes,  nor  of  the 
Augean  stables,  nor  of  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  nor  of  the 
labors  of  Hercules,  for  such  allusions  have  been  worn 
threadbare  long  ago. 

Avoid  dashes  and  parentheses,  which  to  the  reader  are 
as  hurdles  to  a  weary  runner. 

Abstain  from  italics;  let  your  statements  be  emphatic 
without  them.  Italics,  like  the  underlining  in  a  school- 
girl 's  letter,  are  apt  to  be  over-worked.  Reserve  them  for 
special  occasions. 


108  A  GUIDE  TO 

GOOD  AND  BAD  WRITING. 

It  is  evident  that  most  writers  try  to  economize  the 
mental  effort  of  the  writer,  not  the  reader.  Bad  writing 
is  generally  due  to  sheer  laziness,  simply  mental  and 
physical  sloth.  It  is  easier  to  be  verbose  than  to  be  terse ; 
it  is  less  trouble  to  write  than  to  think.  A  writer  who  is 
explicit  has  taken  trouble ;  the  man  who  is  vague  assumes 
that  the  reader  * '  will  know  what  I  mean. ' '  But  he  won 't. 
Hence  much  trouble.  Poor  writing  calls  forth  bad  lan- 
guage. 

Huxley  said  that  the  ars  artium,  the  greatest  of  all  arts, 
was  to  be  able  to  say :  "  I  do  not  know. ' '  To  distinguish 
between  what  we  know  and  what  we  think  we  know  is  the 
beginning  of  knowledge.  This  applies  to  writing.  The 
worst  performances  in  print  are  made  by  the  men  who 
mix  fact  with  fancy,  their  knowledge  with  their  igno- 
rance, the  things  they  apprehend  with  the  things  they 
suppose,  the  crystal  and  the  cloud,  neither  clear  water  nor 
solid  land,  but  a  morass  into  which  the  farther  you  go 
the  worse  your  plight. 

To  young  writers  it  is  well  to  say :  Separate  what  you 
know  at  first  hand  about  your  subject  from  what  you 
have  learned  at  second  hand,  keep  the  fact  distinct  from 
the  theory,  not  that  one  is  necessarily  better  than  the 
other,  but  they  thrive  best  when  kept  apart.  Barrett 
Wendell  says  truly :  ' '  To  be  clear  in  narrative,  or  in  expo- 
sition, or  in  argument,  or  in  any  kind  of  discourse  what- 
ever, we  must  evidently  proceed  from  what  is  known  to 
what  is  unknown."  And  the  method,  being  logical,  is 
also  that  followed  naturally  by  the  reader,  whose  mental 
processes  reflect  the  activities  within  the  writer's  brain — 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  109 

and  the  more  of  it  the  writer  gives  to  his  work,  the  less 
the  reader  will  have  to  consume. 

Unpractised  writers  usually  begin  an  article  with  one 
or  two  paragraphs  of  valueless  generalization,  mere  wordi- 
ness preparatory  to  an  explicit  statement,  like  the  tuning 
of  violins  before  a  symphony.  The  musician  cannot  help 
it  because  the  strings  of  his  instrument  will  not  stay  taut ; 
they  must  be  tightened  to  preserve  the  pitch  of  the  violin. 
The  writer,  on  the  contrary,  even  if  he  goes  through  a 
preliminary  tuning  with  his  pen,  need  not  inflict  his 
reader  with  the  result  of  such  clumsy  flourishes;  he  can 
delete,  and  start  at  the  real  beginning  of  his  literary 
effort.  And  when  it  is  over,  there  is  no  need  to  mask  his 
retreat,  like  a  cuttle-fish,  with  an  inky  discoloration  of 
the  clear  waters  of  thought.  Those  who  begin  with  unnec- 
essary tunings  are  apt  to  end  with  gratuitous  discords,  a 
wordy  introduction  is  apt  to  be  balanced  with  a  verbose 
conclusion.  Spare  your  reader  both,  get  to  the  heart  of 
your  subject  without  loss  of  his  mental  energy,  and  when 
you  have  said  what  you  want  to  say,  stop — neither 
abruptly  nor  diffusely,  but  in  a  frank  and  friendly  fashion 
that  is  as  polite  as  it  is  prompt. 

In  preparing  to  write  on  any  subject,  it  is  well  to  turn 
it  over  in  the  mind,  and  then  to  make  a  list  of  headings, 
which  stand  for  separate  ideas.  If  these  are  put  on  cards 
or  slips  of  paper,  they  can  be  arranged  and  re-arranged 
until  the  sequence  appears  logical;  if  logical,  it  will  be 
expressive,  that  is,  effective  from  the  reader's  point  of 
view.  In  the  course  of  selecting  and  shifting  the  head- 
ings, new  thoughts  will  be  suggested  and  the  whole  matter 
put  into  shape.  For  the  act  of  writing  precipitates 


110  A  GUIDE  TO 

thought,  transforming  amorphous  ruminations  into  crys- 
talline ideas. 

Barrett  Wendell  has  said  eloquently  that  "  whatever 
our  subject-matter,  our  task  is  to  translate  the  evanescent 
immaterial  realities  of  thought  and  emotion  into  written 
words.  No  matter  how  humble  our  task  may  seem,  we  are 
really  performing,  well  or  ill,  an  act  of  creative  imagina- 
tion." Hence  the  pleasure  of  the  writer  who  knows  that 
he  has,  in  some  sort,  transferred  to  paper  the  thought  that 
was  vibrant  in  his  mind ;  it  is  like  the  delight  of  the  musi- 
cian who  strikes  a  true  chord  and  feels  the  reverberations 
tingle  through  every  pulse.  At  best,  written  language  is 
clumsy ;  it  lacks  the  tones  and  undertones,  the  expression 
and  gesture,  of  the  spoken  word.  Most  writing  stands  for 
but  a  fraction  of  the  thought  that  brought  it  into  being; 
by  the  time  the  words  have  impinged  upon  the  sight  and 
intelligence  of  the  reader,  a  large  part  of  the  warm  life 
that  they  had  when  uttered  by  the  writer  has  shriveled 
and  grown  cold.  Only  now  and  then  does  a  man  arise, 
like  Huxley  or  Ruskin,  with  such  a  mastery  of  the  pen  as 
to  transform  the  immaterial  thought  into  sculptured 
writing  that  glows  with  vivid  life,  like  the  tinted  marbles 
of  the  Greeks ;  then  indeed  does  man  rise  in  proud  superi- 
ority over  the  dumb  brutes,  for  the  constructive  imagina- 
tion enables  him  to  use  the  clumsy  symbols  of  his  speech 
and  from  them  elaborate  a  vehicle  of  thought  by  which 
the  experiences  and  sensations  of  a  fleeting  today  are 
transmitted  to  his  descendants  in  a  distant  tomorrow. 
Mortal,  he  becomes  immortal;  created,  he  becomes  a 
creator. 


TECHNICAL  WRITING.  Ill 

PARTING  ADVICE. 

1.  Have  something  to  say ;  then  say  it. 

2.  When  uncertain  as  to  your  grammar  or  phrasing, 
re-write  the  sentence  or  paragraph. 

3.  But  do  not  tinker  at  a  doubtful  sentence;  re-con- 
struct it  thoroughly. 

4.  Avoid  the  use  of  words  the  meaning  of  which  is 
doubtful  to  you. 

5.  Make  your  meaning  clear ;  then  consider  style. 

6.  Remember  the  reader. 


A  PLEA  FOR   GREATER  SIMPLICITY  IN   THE 
LANGUAGE   OF  SCIENCE.* 


By  T.  A.  RICKARD. 

Scientific  ideas  are  with  difficulty  soluble  in  human 
speech.  Man,  in  his  contemplation  of  the  flux  of  phe- 
nomena at  work  all  about  him,  is  embarrassed  by  the  want 
of  a  vehicle  of  thought  adequate  for  expression,  as  a  child 
whose  stammering  accents  do  not  permit  him  to  tell  his 
mother  the  new  ideas  which  suddenly  crowd  upon  him 
when  he  meets  with  something  alien  to  his  experience. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  mechanism  of  nature  has  been 
undergoing  a  process  of  growth,  much  of  which  has  been 
sudden.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  incom- 
pletely formed  ideas  of  science  should  become  translated 
into  clumsy  language  and  that  inexact  thinking  should 
be  manifested  by  vagueness  of  expression.  This  inexact- 
ness is  often  veiled  by  the  liberal  use  of  sonorous  Greek- 
Latin  words. 

The  growth  of  knowledge  has  required  an  increase  in 
the  medium  of  intellectual  exchange.  New  conceptions 
have  called  for  new  terms.  Sir  Courtenay  Boyle  has 
pointed  out  that  the  purity  of  a  nation's  coinage  is  prop- 
erly safeguarded,  while  the  verbal  coinage  of  its  national 
language  is  subject  to  no  control.  Specially  qualified 
persons  prepare  the  standards  of  gold  and  silver.  This 
insures  the  absolute  purity  of  the  measures  of  commercial 

*A  paper  read  before  Section  E  of  the  American  Association  for 
the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Denver,  on  August  28,  1901. 

113 


114  A  PLEA  FOR 

exchange  and  gives  the  English  sovereign  and  the  Amer- 
ican gold-piece,  for  example,  an  assured  circulation  along 
all  the  avenues  of  commerce.  It  is  not  so  with  the  stand- 
ards of  speech.  The  nation  debases  its  language  with 
slang,  with  hybrid  and  foreign  words,  the  impure  alloys 
and  the  cheap  imports  of  its  verbal  coinage,  mere  tokens 
that  should  not  be  legal  tender  on  the  intellectual  ex- 
changes. France  has  an  academy  which  in  these  matters 
has  much  of  the  authority  given  to  the  Mint,  whose  assay- 
ers  test  our  metal  coins ;  but  in  our  country  the  mintage 
of  words  is  wholly  unrestricted,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
the  English  language,  circulating  as  it  does  to  all  the  four 
corners  of  the  globe,  has  received  an  admixture  of  frag- 
ments of  speech  taken  from  various  languages,  just  as  the 
currency  given  to  the  traveler  in  exchange  at  the  frontier, 
where  empires  meet,  bears  the  mark  of  several  govern- 
ments and  passes  with  an  equally  liberal  carelessness. 

Science  ignores  geographical  lines  and  bemoans  the 
babel  of  tongues  which  hinders  the  free  interchange  of 
ideas  between  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  Nevertheless, 
the  international  character  of  technical  literature  is  sug- 
gested by  the  fact  that  three  languages,  French,  German, 
and  English,  are  practically  recognized  as  the  standard 
mediums  of  intellectual  exchange.  One  of  these  affords 
the  most  lucid  solvent  of  thought,  another  is  the  speech  of 
the  most  philosophical  of  European  people,  and  the  third 
goes  with  world-wide  dominion,  so  that  each  has  a  claim 
to  become  the  recognized  language  of  science.  The  broth- 
erhood of  thinking  men  will  have  been  fully  recognized 
when  all  agree  to  employ  the  same  tongue  in  their  inter- 
course, but  such  a  "far-off  divine  event"  is  not  within 
the  probabilities  of  the  present,  consequently  there  re- 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  115 


mains  only  for  us  to  make  the  best  of  our  own  particular 
language  and  to  safeguard  its  purity,  so  that  when  it  goes 
abroad  the  people  of  other  countries  may  at  least  be 
assured  that  they  are  not  dealing  with  the  debased  coin- 
age of  speech. 

Barrie  has  remarked  that  in  this  age  the  man  of  science 
appears  to  be  the  only  one  who  has  anything  to  say — and 
the  only  one  who  does  not  know  how  to  say  it.  It  is  far 
otherwise  in  politics,  an  occupation  that  numbers  among 
its  followers  a  great  many  persons  who  have  the  ability 
for  speaking  far  beyond  anything  worth  the  saying  that 
they  have  to  say.  Nor  is  it  so  in  the  arts,  the  high  priests 
of  which,  according  to  Huxley,  have  "the  power  of  ex- 
pression so  cultivated  that  their  sensual  caterwauling  may 
be  almost  mistaken  for  the  music  of  the  spheres."  In 
science  there  is  a  language  as  of  coded  telegrams,  by  the 
use  of  which  a  limited  amount  of  information  is  conveyed 
through  the  medium  of  six-syllabled  words.  Even  when 
not  thus  overburdened  with  technical  terms  it  is  too  often 
the  case  that  scientific  conceptions  are  conveyed  in  a  raw 
and  unpalatable  form,  mere  indigestible  chunks  of  knowl- 
edge, as  it  were,  which  are  apt  to  provoke  mental  dyspep- 
sia. Why,  I  ask,  should  the  standard  English  prose  of  the 
day  be  a  chastened  art  and  the  writing  of  science,  in  a 
great  scientific  era,  merely  an  unkempt  dressing  of  splen- 
did ideas  ?  The  luminous  expositions  of  Huxley,  the  occa- 
sional irradiating  imagery  of  Tyndall,  the  manly  speech 
of  Le  Conte,  and  of  a  very  few  others,  all  serve  simply  to 
emphasize  the  fact  that  the  literature  of  scientific  research 
as  a  whole  is  characterized  by  a  flat  and  ungainly  style, 
which  renders  it  distasteful  to  all  but  those  who  have  a 
great  hunger  for  learning. 


116  A  PLEA  FOR 

To  criticism  of  this  sort  the  professional  scientist  can 
reply  that  he  addresses  himself  not  to  the  public  at  large, 
but  to  those  who  are  themselves  engaged  in  similar  re- 
search, and  he  may  be  prompted  to  add  to  this  the  further 
statement  that  he  cannot  pitch  the  tone  of  his  teachings 
so  as  to  reach  the  unsensitive  intelligence  of  persons  who 
lack  a  technical  education.  Furthermore,  he  will  claim 
that  he  cannot  do  without  the  use  of  the  terms  to  which 
objection  is  made.  However,  in  condemning  the  needless 
employment  of  bombastic  words  of  classical  origin,  in 
place  of  plain  English,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood 
as  attacking  all  technical  terms.  They  are  a  necessary 
evil.  Some  of  them  are  instruments  of  precision  invented 
to  cover  particular  scientific  ideas.  Old  words  have  asso- 
ciations which  sometimes  unfit  them  to  express  new  con- 
ceptions and  therefore  fresh  words  are  coined.  The  com- 
plaint lodged  against  the  pompous  and  ungainly  wordiness 
of  a  large  part  of  the  scientific  writing  of  the  day  is  that 
it  is  an  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  knowledge. 

Let  us  consider  the  subject  as  it  is  thus  presented.  In 
the  first  place,  does  the  excessive  use  of  technical  terms 
impede  the  advance  of  science?  I  think  it  does.  It  kills 
the  grace  and  purity  of  the  literature  by  means  of  which 
the  discoveries  of  science  are  made  known.  Ruskin,  him- 
self a  most  accurate  observer  of  nature,  and  also  a  geolo- 
gist, said  that  he  was  stopped  from  pursuing  his  studies 
"by  the  quite  frightful  inaccuracy  of  the  scientific  peo- 
ple's terms,  which  is  the  consequence  of  their  always  try- 
ing to  write  mixed  Latin  and  English,  so  losing  the  grace 
of  the  one  and  the  sense  of  the  other. ' '  But  grace  of  dic- 
tion  is  not  needed,  it  may  well  be  said ;  that  is  true,  and  it 
is  also  true  that  a  clear,  forceful,  unadorned  mode  of 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  117 

expression  is  more  difficult  of  attainment  and  more  desir- 
able in  the  teaching  of  science  than  either  grace  or  fluency 
of  diction.  One  must  not,  as  Huxley  himself  remarks, 
"varnish  the  fair  face  of  Truth  with  that  pestilent  cos- 
metic, rhetoric,"  and  Huxley  most  assuredly  solved  the 
problem  of  how  to  avoid  rhetorical  cosmetics  and  yet  con- 
vey deep  reasoning  on  the  most  complex  of  subjects  in 
addresses  that  are  not  only  as  clear  as  a  trout  stream, 
but  are  also  brightened  by  warm  touches  of  humanity, 
keen  wit,  and  the  glow  of  his  own  courageous  manhood. 
Nevertheless,  though  clearness  of  expression  be  the  first 
desired,  yet  grace  is  not  to  be  scorned.  When  you  have  a 
teaching  to  convey,  it  is  well  to  employ  all  the  aids  that 
will  enable  you  to  get  a  sympathetic  hearing.  Man  lives 
not  by  bread  alone,  much  less  by  stones.  He  likes  his 
mental  food  garnished  with  a  sauce.  Let  the  cooking  be 
good,  of  course,  but  a  chef  knows  the  value  of  a  garniture. 

Our  language  is  capable  of  a  grace  and  a  finish  greater 
than  we  give  it  credit.  That  it  is  possible  to  write  on 
geology,  for  instance,  in  the  most  exquisitely  simple  Eng- 
lish has  been  proved  by  Ruskin,  whose  'Deucalion'  and 
'Modern  Painters'  contain  many  pages  describing  accu- 
rately the  details  of  the  structure  of  rocks  and  mountains, 
and  dealing  with  their  geological  features  in  language 
marked  by  the  most  sparing  use  of  words  that  have  not  an 
Anglo-Saxon  origin. 

The  next  aspect  of  the  enquiry  is  whether  the  language 
of  science,  apart  from  the  view  of  mere  grace  of  style  in 
literature,  is  not  likely,  in  its  present  every-day  form,  to 
delay  the  advance  of  knowledge  by  its  very  obscurity. 
Leaving  the  reader's  feelings  out  of  the  argument,  for  the 
present,  it  seems  obvious  that  the  whole  purpose  of  science. 


118  A  PLEA  FOR 


namely,  the  search  after  truth,  which  is  best  advanced  by 
accuracy  of  observation  and  exactness  of  statement,  is 
hindered  by  a  phraseology  that  sometimes  means  very 
much  but  often  means  very  little,  and,  on  the  whole,  is 
most  serviceable  when  required  as  a  cloak  for  ignorance. 
To  distinguish  between  what  we  know  and  what  we  think 
we  know,  to  comprehend  accurately  the  little  that  we  do 
know,  surely  these  are  the  foundations  of  scientific  prog- 
ress. If  a  man  knows  what  a  thing  really  is,  he  can  say 
so,  describing  it,  for  example,  as  being  black  or  white ;  if 
he  does  not  know,  he  masks  his  ignorance  by  stating  in  a 
few  Greek  or  Latin  terms  that  it  partakes  of  the  general 
quality  of  grayness.  Writers  get  into  the  habit  of  using 
words  that  they  do  not  clearly  understand  themselves 
and  that,  as  a  consequence,  must  fail  in  conveying  an 
exact  meaning  to  their  readers.  Many  persons  who  pos- 
sess only  the  smattering  of  a  subject  are  apt  to  splash  all 
over  it  with  words  of  learned  sound,  which  are  more 
quickly  acquired,  of  course,  than  the  reality  of  knowledge. 
Huxley  said  that  if  a  man  does  really  know  his  subject 
"he  will  be  able  to  speak  of  it  in  an  easy  language  and 
with  the  completeness  of  conviction  with  which  he  talks 
of  an  ordinary  every-day  matter.  If  he  does  not,  he  will 
be  afraid  to  wander  beyond  the  limits  of  the  technical 
phraseology  which  he  has  got  up. ' '  If  any  scientific  writer 
should  complain  that  simplicity  of  speech  is  impracticable 
in  dealing  with  essentially  technical  subjects,  I  refer  him 
to  the  course  of  lectures  delivered  by  Huxley  to  working- 
men,  lectures  which  conveyed  original  investigations  of 
the  greatest  importance,  in  language  that  was  as  easily 
understood  by  his  audience  as  it  was  accurate  when  re- 
garded from  a  purely  professional  standpoint. 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  119 

Science  has  been  well  defined  as  "organized  common 
sense";  let  us  then  express  its  findings  in  something  better 
than  a  mere  jargon  of  speech  and  avoid  that  stupidity 
which  Samuel  Johnson,  himself  an  arch-sinner  in  this  re- 
spect, has  fitly  described  as  "the  immense  pomposity  of 
sesquipedalian  verbiage. ' '  George  Meredith,  a  great  mint- 
master  of  words,  has  recorded  his  objection  to  "conversing 
in  tokens  not  standard  coin. ' '  Indeed  the  clumsy  Latinity 
of  much  of  our  scientific  talk  is  an  inheritance  from  the 
schoolmen  of  the  past;  it  is  the  degraded  currency  of  a 
period  when  the  vagaries  of  astrology  and  alchemy  found 
favor  among  intelligent  men. 

Vagueness  of  language  produces  looseness  of  knowledge 
in  the  teacher  as  well  as  the  pupil.  Huxley,  in  referring  to 
the  use  of  such  comprehensive  terms  as  '  development '  and 
'evolution,'  remarked  that  words  like  these  were  mere 
"noise  and  smoke,"  the  important  thing  being  to  have  a 
clear  conception  of  the  idea  signified  by  the  name.  Exam- 
ples of  this  form  of  error  are  easy  to  find.  The  word 
*  dynamic '  has  a  distinct  meaning  in  physics,  but  it  is  ordi- 
narily employed  in  the  loosest  possible  manner  in  geolog- 
ical literature.  Thus,  the  origin  of  a  perplexing  ore  de- 
posit was  recently  imputed  to  the  effects  produced  by  the 
"dynamic  power"  that  had  shattered  a  certain  mountain. 
'Dynamic'  is  of  Greek  derivation  and  means  powerful, 
therefore  a  'powerful  power'  had  done  this  thing;  but  in 
physics  the  word  is  used  in  the  sense  of  active,  as  opposed 
to  'static'  or  stationary,  and  it  implies  motion  resulting 
from  the  application  of  force.  In  the  case  quoted,  and  in 
many  similar  instances,  the  word  'agency'  or  'activity' 
would  serve  to  interpret  the  hazy  idea  of  the  writer,  and 
there  is  every  reason  to  infer,  from  the  context,  that  he 


120  A  PLEA  FOR 

substituted  the  term  '  dynamic  power '  merely  as  a  frippery 
of  speech.  It  is  much  easier  to  talk  grandiloquently  about 
a  *  dynamic  power,'  which  perpetrates  unutterable  things 
and  reconstructs  creation  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  than 
it  is  to  make  a  careful  study  of  a  region,  trace  its  struc- 
tural lines,  and  decipher  the  relations  of  a  complicated 
series  of  faults.  When  this  has  been  done  and  a  writer 
uses  comprehensive  words  to  summarize  activities  which 
he  has  expressly  defined  and  described,  then  indeed  he  has 
given  a  meaning  to  such  words  and  he  has  a  right  to  use 
them. 

In  this  connection  it  is  amusing  to  remember  how  Rus- 
kin  attacked  Tyndall  for  a  similar  indiscretion.  The  latter 
had  referred  to  a  certain  theory,  which  was  in  debate,  and 
had  said  that  it,  and  the  like  of  it,  was  ' '  a  dynamic  power 
which  operates  against  intellectual  stagnation."  Ruskin 
commented  thus:  "How  a  dynamic  power  differs  from  an 
undynamic  one,  and,  presumably,  also,  a  potestatic  dy- 
namis  from  an  unpotestatic  one — and  how  much  more  sci- 
entific it  is  to  say,  instead  of — that  our  spoon  stirs  our 
porridge — that  it  'operates  against  the  stagnation  of  our 
porridge.'  Professor  Tyndall  trusts  the  reader  to  recog- 
nize with  admiration. ' ' 

Among  geological  names  there  is  that  comfortable  word 
'metasomatosis'  and  its  offspring  of  'metasomatic  inter- 
change,' 'metasomatic  action,'  'metasomatic  origin/  etc., 
etc.  To  a  few  who  employ  the  term  to  express  a  particular 
manner  in  which  rocks  undergo  change,  it  is  a  convenient 
word  for  a  definite  idea,  but  for  the  greater  number  of 
writers  on  geological  subjects  it  is  a  wordy  cloud,  a  neb- 
ular phrase,  which  politely  covers  the  haziness  of  their 
knowledge  concerning  a  certain  phenomenon.  When  you 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  121 

don 't  know  what  a  thing  is,  call  it  a  '  phenomenon ' ! 

Instances  of  mere  vulgarity  of  scientific  language  are 
too  numerous  to  mention.  'Auriferous'  and  ' argentiferous ' 
are  ugly  words.  They  are  unnecessary  ones  also.  The 
other  day  a  metallurgical  specialist  spoke  of  'auriferous 
amalgamation'  as  though  any  process  in  which  mercury 
is  used  could  be  gold-bearing  unless  it  were  part  of  the 
program  that  somebody  should  add  particles  of  gold  to  the 
ore  under  treatment.  A  mining  engineer,  of  the  kind 
known  to  the  press  as  an  expert,  described  a  famous  lode 
as  traversing  "on  the  one  hand  a  feldspathic  tufaceous 
rock"  and  "on  the  other  hand  a  metamorphic  matrix  of 
a  somewhat  argillo-arenaceous  composition."  This  is  sci- 
entific nonsense,  the  mere  travesty  of  speech.  To  those 
who  care  to  dissect  the  terms  used  it  is  easily  seen  that 
the  writer  of  them  could  make  nothing  out  of  the  rocks 
he  had  examined  save  the  fact  that  they  were  decomposed, 
and  the  rock  which  he  described  last  might  have  been 
almost  anything,  for  all  he  said  of  it ;  since  his  description, 
when  translated,  means  literally  a  changed  matter  of  a 
somewhat  clayey-sandy  composition,  which,  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  m-u-d !  The  '  somewhat '  is  the  one  useful  word  in 
the  sentence.  Such  language  may  be  described  in  the 
terms  of  mineralogy  as  metamorphosed  English  pseudo- 
morphic  after  blatherumskite.  Some  years  ago,  when  I 
was  at  a  small  mine  near  Georgetown,  in  Colorado,  a  pro- 
fessor visited  the  underground  workings  and  was  taken 
through  them.  He  immediately  began  to  make  a  display 
of  verbal  fireworks,  which  bewildered  the  foreman  and 
the  other  miners  whom  he  met  in  the  mine — all  save  one, 
a  little  Cornishman,  who,  bringing  him  a  bit  of  clay  that 
accompanied  the  walls  of  the  lode,  said  to  him,  "What 


122  A  PLEA  FOR 

do  'ee  call  un,  you?"  The  professor  replied,  "It  is  the 
argillaceous  remnant  of  an  antediluvian  world."  Quick 
as  a  flash  came  the  comment,  "That's  just  what  I  told  me 
pardner. "  He  was  not  deceived  by  the  vapor  of  words. 

Next  consider  the  position  of  the  reader.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  at  this  date  to  plead  for  the  cause  of  technical 
education  and  the  generous  bestowal  of  the  very  best  that 
there  is  of  scientific  knowledge.  The  great  philosophers 
of  that  New  Reformation  which  marked  the  era  of  the 
publication  of  'The  Origin  of  Species'  have  given  most 
freely  to  all  men  of  their  wealth  of  learning  and  research. 
When  these  have  given  so  much  we  might  well  be  less  nig- 
gardly with  our  small  change  and  cease  the  practice  of 
distributing,  not  good  wholesome  intellectual  bread,  but 
the  mere  stones  of  knowledge,  the  hard  fossils  of  what 
were  once  stimulating  thoughts.  In  the  ancient  world  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries  were  withheld  from  the  crowd  and 
knowledge  was  the  possession  of  a  few.  Do  the  latter  day 
priests  of  science  desire  to  imitate  the  attendants  of  the 
old  Greek  temples  and  confine  their  secrets  to  a  few  of  the 
elect  by  the  use  of  a  formalism  which  is  the  mere  abraca- 
dabra of  speech?  Among  certain  scientific  men  there  is 
a  feeling  that  scientists  should  address  themselves  only  to 
fellow  scientists,  and  that  to  become  an  expositor  to  the 
unlearned  is  to  lose  caste  among  the  learned.  It  is  the 
survival  of  the  narrow  spirit  of  the  dark  ages,  before  mod- 
ern science  was  born.  There  are  not  many,  however,  who 
dare  confess  to  such  a  creed,  although  their  actions  may 
occasionally  endorse  it.  On  the  whole,  modern  science  is 
nothing  if  not  catholic  in  its  generosity.  "To  promote  the 
increase  of  natural  knowledge  and  to  forward  the  appli- 
cation of  scientific  methods  of  investigation  to  all  the  prob- 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  123 

lems  of  life"  was  the  avowed  purpose  of  the  greatest  of 
the  philosophers  of  the  Victorian  era. 

There  are  those  who  are  full  of  a  similar  good-will,  but 
they  fail  in  giving  effect  to  it  because  they  are  unable  to 
use  language  that  can  be  widely  understood.  In  its  very 
infancy  geology  was  nearly  choked  with  big  words,  for 
Lyell,  the  father  of  modern  geology,  said,  seventy  years 
ago,  that  the  study  of  it  was  "very  easy,  when  put  into 
plainer  language  than  scientific  writers  choose  often  un- 
necessarily to  employ. ' '  At  this  day  even  the  publications 
of  the  Geological  Surveys  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Australian  colonies,  for  example,  are  occasionally  re- 
stricted in  usefulness  by  erring  in  this  respect,  and  as  I 
yield  to  none  in  my  appreciation  of  the  splendid  service 
done  to  geology  and  to  mining  by  these  Surveys,  I  trust 
my  criticism  will  be  accepted  in  the  thoroughly  friendly 
spirit  with  which  it  is  offered.  It  seems  to  me  that  one 
might  almost  say  that  certain  of  these  extremely  valuable 
publications  are  'badly'  prepared  because  they  seem  to 
overlook  the  fact  that  they  are,  of  course,  intended  to  aid 
the  mining  community  in  the  first  place,  and  the  public, 
whether  lay  or  scientific,  only  secondarily.  From  a  wide 
experience  among  those  engaged  in  mining  I  can  testify 
that  a  large  part  of  the  literature  thus  prepared  is  useless 
to  them,  and  that  no  one  regrets  it  more  deeply  than  they, 
because  there  is  a  marked  tendency  among  this  class  of 
workers  to  appreciate  the  assistance  which  science  can 
give.  Take,  for  example,  a  sentence  like  the  following, 
extracted  from  one  of  the  recent  reports  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey:  "The  ore  forms  a  series  of  imbricating 
lenses,  or  a  stringer  lead,  in  the  slates,  the  quartz  con- 
forming as  a  rule  to  the  carunculated  schistose  structures, 


124  A  PLEA  FOR 

though  occasionally  breaking  across  laminae,  and  some- 
times the  slate  is  so  broken  as  to  form  a  reticulated  de- 
posit." This  was  written  by  one  of  our  foremost  geolo- 
gists and,  when  translated,  the  sentence  is  found  to  con- 
vey a  useful  fact,  but  is  it  likely  to  be  clear  to  anyone  but 
a  traveling  dictionary  ?  A  thoroughly  literary  man  might 
know  the  exact  meaning  of  the  two  or  three  very  unusual 
words  which  are  employed  in  this  statement,  but  the  ques- 
tion is,  will  it  be  of  any  use  whatever  even  to  a  fairly  edu- 
cated miner,  or  be  understood  by  those  who  pay  for  the 
preparation  of  such  literature,  namely,  the  taxpayers  ?  An 
example  of  another  kind  is  afforded  by  a  Tasmanian  geolo- 
gist who  recently  described  certain  ores  as  due  to  "the 
effects  of  a  reduction  in  temperature  of  the  hitherto  lique- 
fied hydroplutonic  solutions,  and  their  consequent  regular 
precipitation."  These  solutions,  it  is  further  stated,  pre- 
sumably for  the  guidance  of  those  who  wield  the  pick, 
"ascended  in  the  form  of  metallic  superheated  vapors 
which  combined  eventually  with  ebullient  steam  to  form 
other  aqueous  solutions,  causing  geyser-like  discharges  at 
the  surface,  aided  by  subterranean  and  irrepressible  pres- 
sure. ' '  At  the  same  time  certain  i '  dynamical  forces ' '  were 
very  busy  indeed  and  "eventuated  in  the  opening  of  fis- 
sures"— of  which  one  can  only  regret  that  they  did  not 
swallow  up  the  author  as  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram 
were  once  engulfed  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel. 

It  will  be  well  to  contrast  these  two  examples  of  exu- 
berant verbosity  because  the  first  befogs  the  statement  of 
a  scientific  observation  of  value,  made  by  an  able  man, 
while  the  second  cloaks  the  ignorance  of  a  charlatan,  who 
masquerades  his  nonsense  in  the  trappings  of  wisdom. 
Here  you  have  an  illustration  of  the  harmfulness  of  this 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  125 

kind  of  language,  which  obscures  truth  and  falseness 
alike,  to  the  degradation  of  science  and  the  total  confusion 
of  those  of  the  unlearned  who  are  searching  after  infor- 
mation. 

Let  the  writer  on  scientific  matters  learn  the  derivation 
of  the  words  he  uses  and  then  translate  them  literally  into 
English  before  he  uses  them,  and  thereby  avoid  the  uncon- 
scious talking  of  nonsense.  If  he  knows  not  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  terms  which  offer  themselves  to  his  pen, 
let  him  avoid  them  and  trust  to  the  honest  aid  of  his  own 
language.  "Great  part  of  the  supposed  scientific  knowl- 
edge of  the  day  is  simply  bad  English,  and  vanishes  the 
moment  you  translate  it,"  says  Ruskin.  The  examples 
already  given  will  illustrate  this.  "Every  Englishman 
has,  in  his  native  tongue,  an  almost  perfect  instrument  of 
literary  expression, ' '  so  says  Huxley,  and  he  illustrates  his 
own  saying.  Huxley  and  Ruskin  were  wide  apart  in  many 
things  and  yet  they  agreed  in  this.  Ruskin  proved  abun- 
dantly that  the  language  of  Shakespeare  and  the  Bible  can 
be  used  as  a  weapon  of  expression  keen  as  a  Damascus 
sabre  when  it  is  freed  from  the  rust  of  classic  importa- 
tions, which  make  it  clumsy  as  a  crowbar. 

There  is  yet  another  reason  against  the  excessive  use  of 
Greek-English  words,  in  particular.  Greece  is  not  a  rem- 
nant of  extinct  geography,  but  an  existing  land  with  an 
active  people  and  a  living  language.  The  terms  that  pale- 
ontology has  borrowed  from  the  Greek  may  be  returned 
by  the  Greeks  to  us.  And,  as  Ruskin  points  out,  "What 
you,  in  compliment  to  Greece,  call  a  '  Dinotherium, '  Greece, 
in  compliment  to  you,  must  call  a  '  Nasty-beastium, '  and 
you  know  the  interchange  of  compliments  can't  last  long." 

In  all  seriousness,  however,  is  it  too  much  to  ask  that 


126  A  PLEA  FOR 

such  technical  terms  as  are  considered  essential  shall  not 
be  used  carelessly,  and  that  in  publications  intended  for 
an  untechnical  public,  as  are  most  government  reports,  an 
effort  be  made  to  avoid  them  and,  where  unavoidable, 
those  which  are  least  likely  to  be  understood  shall  be 
translated  in  foot-notes.  Even  as  regards  the  transactions 
of  scientific  societies,  I  believe  that  those  of  us  who  are 
active  members  have  little  to  lose  and  much  to  gain  by 
confining  the  use  of  our  clumsy  terminology  to  cover  ideas 
which  we  cannot  otherwise  express.  By  doing  so  we  shall 
contribute,  I  earnestly  believe,  to  that  advancement  of 
science  which  we  all  have  at  heart. 

In  furtherance  of  this  principle  we  must  remember  that 
language  in  relation  to  ideas  is  a  solvent,  the  purity  and 
clearness  of  which  effect  what  it  bears  in  solution.  Whe- 
v/ell,  in  'The  Philosophy  of  the  Inductive  Sciences,'  has 
expressed  this  view  of  the  matter  with  noble  eloquence. 
"Language,"  he  said,  "is  often  called  an  instrument  of 
thought,  but  it  is  also  the  nutriment  of  thought ;  or  rather, 
it  is  the  atmosphere  in  which  thought  lives;  a  medium 
essential  to  the  activity  of  our  speculative  powers,  al- 
though invisible  and  imperceptible  in  its  operation,  and 
an  element  modifying,  by  its  qualities  and  changes,  the 
growth  and  complexion  of  the  faculties  which  it  feeds. ' ' 

In  considering  the  subject  from  this  standpoint,  there 
is  borne  in  upon  the  mind  a  suggestion  that  carries  our 
thought  far  beyond  the  confines  of  the  matter  under  dis- 
cussion. Such  power  of  speech  as  man  possesses  is  a  fac- 
ulty which  appears  to  divide  him  from  all  other  living 
things,  while  at  the  same  time  the  imperfection  of  it 
weighs  him  down  continually  with  the  sense  of  an  essential 
frailty.  To  be  able  to  express  oneself  perfectly  would  be 


GREATER  SIMPLICITY.  127 

divine,  to  be  unable  to  make  oneself  understood  is  human. 
In  'Man's  Place  in  Nature,'  Huxley  points  out  that  the 
endowment  of  intelligible  speech  separates  man  from  the 
brutes  which  are  most  like  him,  namely,  the  anthropoid 
apes,  whom  he  otherwise  resembles  closely  in  substance 
and  in  structure.  This  endowment  enables  him  to  trans- 
mit the  experience  which  in  other  animals  is  lost  with 
each  individual  life;  it  has  enabled  him  to  organize  his 
knowledge  and  to  hand  it  down  to  his  descendants,  first 
by  word  of  mouth  and  then  by  written  words.  If  the 
experience  thus  recorded  were  properly  utilized,  instead 
of  being  largely  disregarded,  then  man's  advancement 
in  knowledge  and  conduct  would  enable  him  to  em- 
phasize much  more  than  it  is  permitted  him  at  pres- 
ent, his  superiority  over  the  dumb  brutes.  Consid- 
ered from  this  standpoint,  language  is  a  factor  in 
the  evolution  of  the  race  and  an  instrument  that  works 
for  ethical  progress.  It  is  a  gift  most  truly  divine,  which 
should  be  cherished  as  the  ladder  that  has  permitted  of 
an  ascent  from  the  most  humble  beginnings  and  leads  to 
the  heights  of  a  loftier  destiny,  when  man,  ceasing  to 
stammer  forth  in  accents  which  are  but  the  halting  expres- 
sion of  swift  thought,  shall  photograph  his  mind  in  the 
fulness  of  speech,  and,  neither  withholding  what  he  wants 
to  say  nor  saying  what  he  wants  to  withhold,  shall  be 
linked  to  his  fellow  by  the  completeness  of  a  perfect  com- 
munion of  ideas. 


T.  A.  RICKARD,  -  -          -          EDITOR 

COURTENAY  DE  KALB,   -  ASSOCIATE  EDITOR 
EDGAR  RICKARD.       -        BUSINESS  MANAGER 


84  PAGES-ILLUSTRATED. 


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INDISPENSABLE  TO  MINING  MEN. 
THE  ORGAN  OF  THE  PROFESSION. 


GENERAL  INDEX 

Page. 

Abbreviations   20,  105 

Accuracy   25,  89 

Approximation    27 

Ambiguity 78,  82,  85 

Antecedent   74 

Australian  terms  17,  40,  41 

Capitals 103,  104 

Chemical  symbols   20,  21,  22 

Ciphers   26 

Colloquial  terms  16,  49,  86 

Comma    26 

Conjunctions 77,  92 

Currency    23 

Decimal  point  26,  28 

Defining  clauses  76 

Definite  article   > 65 

Dimensions  24,  27 

Education   29,  51 

Euphony 83 

Exaggeration    53 

Excessive  hyphenation 38 

Florid  descriptions   31 

Foot-notes 103 

Foreign  words 105 

Geological  Survey 44,  62,  123 

Generalizations  109 

Gerund 34,  35 

Greek  and  Latin 29 

Headings   109 

Hyphens   33 

Indefinite  pronoun 71 

Italics  105,  107 

Latinity 101,  118 

Local  terms  19,  40,  41 

Lucidity 39,  85 


130 


Page. 

Manuscript 103 

Modesty   55,  73 

Numbers    25,  58 

Numerals    23 

Participle    34,   35 

Period    22 

Plural  20,  56,  96,  106 

Possessive 95 

Prepositions 93 

Preposition  verbs  65,  106 

Pronouns  58,  59,  72,  74 

Punctuation 22,  26,  78,  98 

Quotation  marks 99 

Relative  pronouns 74,  92 

Restrictive  clause 74,  84 

Shall  and  will 94 

Split  infinitive    65 

Stenographer,  use  of 14 

Style    8,  13,  111 

Subjunctive    94 

Taste   61,  72 

Tautology    69 

Terminations 105 

Thermometrical  signs  21,  23 

Titles    61 

Transfer  of  thought  8 

Usage   28,  65 

Vulgarisms   16,  44,  46,  107,  121 

Weights  and  measures 22,  23 


INDEX  TO  WORDS 


Page. 

About 55 

Adit   43 

Amalgamating 36 

Approximate    58 

Balance  101 

Barrel    23 

Beaume   23 

Bushel  23 

Camp  101 

Carbonaceous 100 

Carboniferous    100 

Cent  23 

Centavo 21,  23 

Centigrade   23 

Centimetre   23 

Chute 43 

Company 24 

Concentrate   56 

Consistence 58 

Contemplate 92 

Country  rock 41 

Cubic  centimetre   20 

Delimit    105 

Deposit    33 

Dip  46 

District  . 101 

Doctor  61 

Drift 42,  43 

Drive 42,  88 

Dynamic  119 

Estate    92 

Evolution   119 

Except 58 

Exploitation 91 

Exploration 91 

Extensive   87 

Fahrenheit 23 

Farther  105 

Fathom   23 

Feet   22 

Field    101 

Florin 23 

Flue-dust 36 


Page. 

Franc 23 

Furnace  35 

Gallon    23 

Gallows  frame  17,  19 

Grain  23 

Gram   23 

Grinding-plate    35 

Hade    46 

Head-frame    18 

High-grade 50 

Horse-power  23 

Inaugurate  87 

Inches    22 

Install    87 

Kilogram   21,  23 

Kilometre  23 

Latter 70 

Lead    40 

Leaser 17,  19 

Ledge  17,  19,  40 

Lessee  18,  46 

Locate 43,  44,  45,  92 

Location  43,  44 

Lode  40 

Metasomatic   102,  120 

Metre  23 

Milligram   23 

Millimetre 23 

Milling 36 

Mineral   42 

Mineralization  42 

Mineralized    42 

Minute  22 

Mucker 90 

Occur  71 

One 71 

Ore  18,  33,  41 

Ore-bin  34 

Orebody   33 

Ore-shoot  33,  43 

Ounce   20 

Paddock  17,  19 

Part  45,  46,  57 


132 


Page. 

Partially . 58,  105 

Partly 58,  105 

Payable  70 

Penny  23 

Per  cent 22,  57,  87 

Permanent 50,  51,  86 

Persistent 50,  51,  86 

Peso  21 

Pitch    46 

Poppet-heads   18 

Portion  45,  57 

Pound  20 

Practicable 83 

Preventive 105 

Professor 61 

Prosecute 86,  93 

Raise   42 

Rather   54,  55 

Reagent 105 

Reaumer 23 

Reef  17,  19,  40 

Region 101 

Reinforce    105 

Re-locate 37 

Remainder   101 

Report 67 

Rock 18,  19,  41,  42 

Sand  57 

Second  .  22 


Page. 

Section   45,  88 

Series 58 

Shall  94 

Shilling 23 

Shoot  43 

Silicious    102 

Slag-pot   35 

Slime 46,  56 

Somewhat 54 

Stamp-mill   34 

Strata    102 

Strike  49,  106 

Sulphurets 17,  19,  41 

Supposititious  105 

Tailing  47,  56 

Tank 40 

That 75,  76,  96 

Tunnel  43 

Unique   54 

Value  47,  48,  89 

Vat  35,  40 

Vein-stone 41 

Very 52 

Which 74,  96 

Who 74,  95 

Will    94 

Winze 42 

Yard  23 

Zinc-box  ..  35 


" 


OVERDUE. 


REC'D  LD 

OCT  24  1956 


SEP  30  1940 


OCT  181940W- 


REC'ii  t-P 


JUL  14  1942 
JUL  28  1942 

jAcflRVB 


16039 


180889 


